The Game may refer to:

Sports and games

The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig

The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself

The Game (treasure hunt), a 24- to 48-hour treasure hunt / puzzlehunt / road rally

The Games (Olympics), the Olympic Games, an international multi-sport event

The Game Headwear, a sports apparel and equipment company

College sports

The Game (Harvard-Yale), an annual American college football game

The Game (Michigan-Ohio State), an annual American college football game

The Game (Hampden-Sydney/Randolph-Macon), an annual American college football game

The Game (Cornell-Harvard), an annual American college ice hockey game

Some annual sporting competitions amongst rivals, to the participants and their fans

Music

Performers

Game (rapper), formerly The Game, American rapper

Albums

''The Game'' (Chico DeBarge album)

''The Game'' (Queen album)

''The Game'' (Richie Rich album)

''The Game'' (Sham 69 album)

''The Game'', a forthcoming album by Jo Hikk

''The Game'', an album by Pete Murray

Songs

"The Game" (Common song)

"The Game" (Disturbed song)

"The Game" (Echo & the Bunnymen song)

"The Game", a song by Cold Chisel from ''Twentieth Century''

"The Game", a song by Dive Dive

"The Game", a song by Drowning Pool from ''WWF Forceable Entry''

"The Game", a song by End of Fashion from ''End of Fashion''

"The Game", a song by Jurassic Five from ''Quality Control''

"The Game", a song by Lacuna Coil from ''Karmacode''

"The Game", a song by The Levellers from ''Levelling the Land''

"The Game", a song by Motörhead from ''Hammered''

"The Game", a song by Nightingale from ''I''

"The Game", a song by Soul Asylum from ''Candy from a Stranger''

"The Game", a song by Trapt from ''Trapt''

Television

Programs

''The Game'' (Australian TV series), a program about Australian rules football

''The Game'' (U.S. TV series), a comedy-drama series

''The Games'' (Australian TV series), a mockumentary about the 2000 Sydney Olympics

''The Games'' (UK TV series), a celebrity athletics competition

Episodes

"The Game" (''Desperate Housewives'')

"The Game" (''Star Trek: The Next Generation'')

"The Game", an episode of ''Girlfriends'', backdoor pilot for the U.S. TV series ''The Game''

"The Game", an episode of ''Recess''

"The Game", an episode of ''Stargate Atlantis''

"The Games", an episode of ''Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World''

Film

''The Games'' (film), a 1970 film directed by Michael Winner

''The Game'' (1984 film), a horror film directed by Bill Rebane

''The Game'' (film), a 1997 film directed by David Fincher

''The Game'' (1998 film), a Scottish TV movie set during the 1978 World Cup, directed by Haldane Duncan

The Game (''Highlander''), the series of battles to become "the one" among the Immortals, in the ''Highlander'' film and television franchise

Literature

''The Game'' (Ken Dryden), a memoir by ice hockey player Ken Dryden

''The Game'' (Mary Russell novel), a novel by Laurie R. King

''The Game'' (novella), a novella by Diana Wynne Jones

''The Game'' (play), a play by Harold Brighouse

''The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists'', a book by Neil Strauss

''The Game'', a novel by A. S. Byatt

''The Game'', a novel by Hans Ruesch

''The Game'', a novel by Jack London

''The Game'', a novel by Michael Hastings

Other

''The Game'' (audio drama), a 2005 ''Doctor Who'' audio drama

KXTG or 95.5 FM, "The Game", an all-sports FM radio station in Portland, Oregon

The Game, a nickname of American professional wrestler Triple H

The Game, in Synanon, a truth-telling session

"The game", a principle espoused by the 20th-century Greek philosopher Kostas Axelos

See also

Game (disambiguation)

The Game of the Century (disambiguation)

The game of their lives (disambiguation)

cs:The Game es:The Game fr:The Game ko:더 게임 it:The Game lv:The Game nl:The Game no:The Game pl:The Game pt:The Game ru:The Game sh:The Game fi:The Game sv:The Game tr:The Game zh:The Game

Coordinates	6°7′55″N1°13′22″N
Name	50 Cent
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Curtis James Jackson III
Origin	South Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States
Birth date	July 06, 1975
Birth place	South Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States
Genre	Hip hop, Gangsta Rap
Occupation	Rapper, Businessman, Actor
Years active	1997 – present
Label	Shady, Aftermath, Interscope
Associated acts	G-Unit, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Sha Money XL, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, DJ Whoo Kid
Website	}}

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), better known by his stage name 50 Cent (often pronounced "fitty cent"), is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums ''Get Rich or Die Tryin''' (2003) and ''The Massacre'' (2005). His album ''Get Rich or Die Tryin''' has been certified six times platinum by the RIAA.

Born in South Jamaica, Queens, Jackson began drug dealing at the age of twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic. After leaving drug dealing to pursue a rap career, he was shot at and struck by nine bullets during an incident in 2000. After releasing his album ''Guess Who's Back?'' in 2002, Jackson was discovered by rapper Eminem and signed to Interscope Records. With the help of Eminem and Dr. Dre, who produced his first major commercial successes, Jackson became one of the world's highest selling rappers. In 2003, he founded the record label G-Unit Records, which signed several successful rappers such as Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo.

Jackson has engaged in feuds with other rappers including Ja Rule, Nas, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Cam'ron, Puff Daddy, Rick Ross, and former G-Unit members The Game and Young Buck. He has also pursued an acting career, appearing in the semi-autobiographical film ''Get Rich or Die Tryin''' in 2005, the Iraq War film ''Home of the Brave'' in 2006, and ''Righteous Kill'' in 2008. 50 Cent was ranked as the sixth best artist of the 2000s by ''Billboard'' magazine. The magazine also ranked him as the fourth top male artist and as the third top rapper behind Eminem and Nelly. ''Billboard'' magazine also ranked him as the sixth best and most successful Hot 100 Artist of the 2000s and as the number one rap artist of the 2000s. ''Billboard'' ranked his album ''Get Rich or Die Tryin''' as the twelfth best album of the 2000s and his album ''The Massacre'' as the 37th best album of the 2000s. As of September 2011, 50 Cent is working on his fifth studio album, which is set to be released in 2012.

Early life

Curtis Jackson III grew up in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, in New York City. He grew up without a father and was raised by his mother, Sabrina, who gave birth to him at the age of fifteen.

Sabrina, a cocaine dealer, raised Jackson until the age of twelve, when she was killed in 1988. Twenty-seven at the time, she became unconscious after someone drugged her drink. She was then left for dead after the gas in her apartment was turned on and the windows shut closed.

After her death, Jackson moved into his grandparents' house with his eight aunts and uncles. He recalls, "My grandmother told me, 'Your mother's not coming home. She's not gonna come back to pick you up. You're gonna stay with us now.' That's when I started adjusting to the streets a little bit".

Jackson began boxing around the age of eleven.

At fourteen, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local kids.

"When I wasn't killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip", he recalled. In the mid 1980s, he competed in the Junior Olympics as an amateur boxer. He recounts, "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ". At the age of twelve, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was at after-school programs. He also took guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School. He later stated, "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"

Following time spent in a correctional boot camp, Jackson adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for "change". The name was derived from Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent". Jackson chose the name "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means".

Music career

1996–2000: Early career

Jackson started rapping in a friend's basement where he used turntables to record over instrumentals. In 1996, a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC who was organizing his label Jam Master Jay Records.

Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses, structure songs, and how to make a record. Jackson's first official appearance was on a song titled "React" with the group Onyx on their 1998 album ''Shut 'Em Down''. He credited Jam Master Jay as an influence who helped him improve his ability to write hooks. Jay produced Jackson's first album; however, it was never released.

In 1999, after leaving Jam Master Jay, the platinum-selling producers Trackmasters took notice of Jackson and signed him to Columbia Records. They sent him to a studio in Upstate New York where he produced thirty-six songs in two weeks. Eighteen were included on his unofficially released album, ''Power of the Dollar'' in 2000. He also started the now-defunct Hollow Point Entertainment with former G-Unit affiliate Bang 'Em Smurf.

Jackson's popularity started to increase after the successful but controversial underground single, "How to Rob", which he wrote in half an hour while in a car on the way to a studio. The track comically explains how he would rob famous artists. He explained the reasoning behind song's content as, "There's a hundred artists on that label, you gotta separate yourself from that group and make yourself relevant". Rappers Jay-Z, Kurupt, Sticky Fingaz, Big Pun, DMX, Wyclef Jean and the Wu-Tang Clan replied to the song and Nas, who received the track positively, invited Jackson to travel on a promotional tour for his ''Nastradamus'' album. The song was intended to be released with "Thug Love" featuring Destiny's Child, but two days before he was scheduled to film the "Thug Love" music video, Jackson was shot and confined to a hospital due to his injuries.

2000–01: Shooting

On May 24, 2000, Jackson was attacked by a gunman, alleged to be Darryl "Hommo" Baum, outside his grandmother's former home in South Jamaica, Queens. He went into a friend's car, but was asked to return to the house to get jewelry.

His son was in the house, while his grandmother was in the front yard. Upon returning to the back seat of the car and already seated, another car pulled up nearby. An assailant then walked up to Jackson's left side with a 9mm handgun and fired nine shots at close range. He was shot nine times: in the hand (a round hit his right thumb, to where the bullet passed through and out his little finger), arm, hip, both legs, chest, and his face (his left cheek). The face wound resulted in a swollen tongue, the loss of a wisdom tooth, and a small slur in his voice. His friend also sustained a gunshot wound to the hand. They were driven to the hospital where Jackson spent thirteen days.

Baum, the alleged shooter, was killed three weeks later.

Baum was also Mike Tyson's close friend and bodyguard.

Jackson recalled the incident saying, "It happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to shoot back.... I was scared the whole time.... I was looking in the rear-view mirror like, 'Oh @#!*% , somebody shot me in the face! It burns, burns, burns.'" In his autobiography, ''From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens'', he wrote, "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone". He used a walker for the first six weeks and fully recovered after five months. When he left the hospital, he stayed in the Poconos with his then-girlfriend and son. His workout regime helped him attain his muscular physique.

While in the hospital, Jackson signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records. However, he was dropped from the label and "blacklisted" in the recording industry because of his song "Ghetto Qu'ran".

Unable to find a studio to work with in the U.S, he traveled to Canada. Along with his business partner Sha Money XL, he recorded over thirty songs for mixtapes, with the purpose of building a reputation.

According to Shady Records A&R; Marc Labelle in an interview with HitQuarters, Jackson shrewdly used the mixtape circuit to his own advantage saying, "He took all the hottest beats from every artist and flipped them with better hooks. They then got into all the markets on the mixtapes and all the mixtape DJs were messing with them." Jackson's popularity rose and in 2002, he released material independently on the mixtape, ''Guess Who's Back?''. Beginning to attract interest, and now backed by G-Unit, Jackson continued to release music including ''50 Cent Is the Future''. The mixtape revisited material by Jay-Z and Raphael Saadiq.

2002–2009: Rise to fame

In 2002, Eminem listened to a copy of Jackson's ''Guess Who's Back?'' CD. He received the CD through Jackson's attorney, who was working with Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg. Impressed with the album, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles, where he was introduced to Dr. Dre. After signing a $1 million record deal, Jackson released the mixtape, ''No Mercy, No Fear''. It featured one new track, "Wanksta", which was put on Eminem's ''8 Mile'' soundtrack. He was also signed to Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group.

In February 2003, Jackson released his commercial debut album, ''Get Rich or Die Tryin'''. Allmusic described it as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade". ''Rolling Stone'' noted the album for its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce" with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow".

It debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 872,000 copies in the first four days. The lead single, "In da Club", which ''The Source'' noted for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps", broke a ''Billboard'' record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week.

Interscope granted Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records in 2003. He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, and Young Buck as the established members of G-Unit. The Game was later signed under a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment.

In March 2005, Jackson's second commercial album, ''The Massacre'', sold 1.14 million copies in the first four days-the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle- and peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 for six weeks.

He became the first solo artist to have three singles on the ''Billboard'' top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno", and "How We Do". ''Rolling Stone'' noted that "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus".

After The Game's departure, Jackson signed singer Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records. Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joined the label. Jackson expressed interest in working with rappers outside of G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J from Def Jam, Mase from Bad Boy, and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, some of whom he recorded with. In September 2007, he released his third album ''Curtis'', which was inspired by his life before ''Get Rich or Die Tryin'''. It debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 691,000 units in the first week, behind Kanye West's ''Graduation'', whom he had a sales competition with, as both albums were released on the same day.

He confirmed on TRL on September 10, 2008 that his fourth studio album, ''Before I Self Destruct'', will be "done and released in November".

On May 18, 2009, Jackson released a song entitled "Ok, You're Right". The song was produced by Dr. Dre and was included in ''Before I Self Destruct''.

In Fall 2009, 50 Cent appeared in the new season of VH1's Behind The Music.

On September 3, 2009 months upon the release of his "Before I Self Destruct" album 50 Cent posted a video for the Soundkillers' Phoenix produced track "Flight 187" which introduced his mixtape, the 50th LAW, and was also featured as a bonus track on his iTunes release of Before I Self Destruct. The song ignited speculation that there was tension between rapper 50 Cent and Jay Z for Jackson's comments in the song.

2010 – present

In an interview with the British entertainment website ContactMusic, 50 Cent announced that he was working on a dance album named ''Black Magic''. 50 Cent said he was inspired by the European nightclubs. "First they played hip-hop which suddenly changed to uptempo songs, known as Eurodance". He went on The Invitation Tour in the summer of 2010, in support of ''Before I Self Destruct'' album, and the then shelved ''Black Magic'' album. He "recorded 20 songs to a whole different album concept" before he put those to the side and did something different.

50 Cent revealed that he wanted his new album to have the same "aggression" as his debut record, ''Get Rich or Die Tryin'''.

He later tweeted that the album was "80 percent done", and stated that fans can expect the album in the summer of 2011; however, the album has been delayed to 2012 at the earliest, due to tensions and disagreements at Interscope Records, Later 50 Cent said that he will release his album in November 2011 and it has also been confirmed that "Black Magic" will not be the album's title. 50 Cent has already confirmed that Eminem will appear on the album, but he also confirmed that he has been working with new producers such as Boi-1da and Alex da Kid. Cardiak, who produced Lloyd Banks' “Start It Up”, also confirmed that he had produced a song for the upcoming album.

DJ Whoo Kid confirmed in an interview that 50 Cent was filming a new movie with Robert DeNiro in New Orleans.

50 Cent released the first song from his fifth studio album, titled "Outlaw", to the Internet on June 16, 2011.

The single was produced by Cardiak.

It was released to iTunes on July 19, 2011, although 50 Cent confirmed through his Twitter account that the song was not the album's first single.

50 Cent is set to release a book titled ''Playground''.

Unlike his previous literary efforts — which focus on his life story and the rules of power — this time he's aiming at a teen audience with a semi-autobiographical novel about bullying. According to a statement from the book's publisher, the first-person novel is slated for release in January 2012 and will tell the story of a 13-year-old schoolyard bully "who finds redemption as he faces what he's done."

50 Cent has promised to deliver his fifth studio album album over the past few years, but the LP may be delayed until 2012. In a series of tweets, 50 Cent explained that him and his label Interscope Records aren’t on the same page on how to roll out the album and that he’s delaying its release until they see eye to eye.

50 Cent later suggested that his album will be releasing in November 2011, along with his headphone line ''SMS by 50''.

50 Cent spoke to MTV in relation to the possibility of leaving Interscope Records. "I don't know," 50 told MTV News when asked if he would ink back with Interscope once his five-album deal was fulfilled. "It will all be clear in the negotiations following me turning this actual album in. And, of course, the performance and how they actually treat the work will determine whether you still want to stay in that position or not."

On June 20, 2011, 50 Cent announced that he will release an LP titled ''Before I Self Destruct II''. The announced sequel to his 2009 LP is suggested to be released after his fifth studio album.

On June 26, 2011, 50 Cent planned to shoot a music video for the lead single from his fifth studio album titled ''I'm On It''. However, the music video never surfaced.

50 Cent spoke to Shade45 in relation guest appearances for his fifth studio album. "I did four songs in Detroit with Eminem. I did two with Just Blaze, a Boi-1da joint, and I did something with Alex da Kid. We made two that are definite singles and the other two are the kinds of records that we been making, more aimed at my core audience, more aggressive, more of a different kind of energy to it."

In September 2011, 50 Cent released a song titled "Street King Energy Track #7" in attempt to promote his charitable energy drink ''Street King''.

On September 28, 2011, it was confirmed that 50 Cent is shooting a music video for his lead single from his fifth studio album titled "Girls Go Wild", which features Jeremih.

On October 26, 2011, 50 Cent announced that his fifth studio album will be released in December 2011.

Other ventures

Jackson has established himself in a variety of fields. In November 2003, he signed a five-year deal with Reebok to distribute a "G-Unit Sneakers" line as part of his G-Unit Clothing Company. He provided the voice-over as the protagonist in the video game ''50 Cent: Bulletproof'', which was released for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and the PlayStation Portable.

Its sequel, ''50 Cent: Blood on the Sand'', was released in early 2009. He worked with Glacéau to create a vitamin water drink called Formula 50. In 2007, Coca-Cola purchased Glacéau for US$4.1 billion. ''Forbes'' estimated Jackson, who owns a stake in the company, earned $100 million from the deal after taxes. He has teamed up with Right Guard to launch a body spray called Pure 50 RGX Body Spray and a condom line called Magic Stick Condoms, in which he planned to donate part of the proceeds to HIV awareness.

Jackson has signed a multi-year deal with Steiner Sports to sell his memorabilia.

In 2005, Jackson made a cameo appearance on ''The Simpsons'' episode "Pranksta Rap", in which he makes light of his legal troubles. The same year, he starred alongside Terrence Howard in the semi-autobiographical film ''Get Rich or Die Tryin'''. He starred in the 2006 film ''Home of the Brave'', as a soldier returning home from the Iraq War, traumatized after killing an Iraqi woman.

Jackson is working on a role as a fighter in an Angola State Prison in ''Spectacular Regret'' alongside Nicolas Cage, and starred opposite Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in 2008's ''Righteous Kill'', a movie regarding a police death.

He also started the film production companies G-Unit Films in 2007 and Cheetah Vision in 2008.

In August 2007, Jackson announced plans to launch a dietary supplement company in conjunction with his movie ''Spectacular Regret''.

In August 2005, shortly before appearing in ''Get Rich or Die Tryin''', Jackson published an autobiography entitled ''From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens''. In it, Jackson explores the cultural and economic forces that led him to sell cocaine and crack, details his entrepreneurship as a drug-dealer and then as a rapper, and reflects on his own ethos and on society.

On January 4, 2007, Jackson launched his G-Unit Books imprint at the Time Warner Building. He also co-wrote ''The Ski Mask Way'', a novel about a small-time drug dealer who attempts to rob his employers, which is to be turned into a film. Jackson said he read Robert Greene's ''The 33 Strategies of War'' and worked with the author on a book titled ''The 50th Law'', an urban take on ''The 48 Laws of Power''. In May 2008, Jackson met billionaire Patrice Motsepe to forge a joint venture selling 50 Cent-branded platinum.

In 2008, Jackson started a reality television show on MTV titled ''50 Cent: The Money and the Power''; the winning contestant, Ryan Mayberry, won a $100,000 investment from Jackson.

On September 8, 2009, he published his book ''The 50th Law''.

In 2010, Jackson's film company Cheetah Vision landed $200 million in funding.

In July 2011, 50 Cent revealed his initiative to provide food for millions of people in Africa by 2016. 50 Cent teamed up with Pure Growth Partners to launch a charitable energy drink called ''Street King'' that will help aid in combating world hunger. For every purchase of Street King, a portion of the sales will go to providing a daily meal to an underprivileged child around the world. The partnership coincides with Fiddy’s mission statement of feeding a billion people in Africa over the next five years.

“50 Cent and I share a common vision: To address the world’s problems through smart and sustainable business models,” said Chris Clark, the founder and CEO of Pure Growth Partners. “With the rampant starvation in Africa and hunger afflicting children worldwide, we need socially responsible businesses that affect real change now more than ever.”

50 concurs, stating, “I’m inspired by Clarke’s vision and innovative approaches to tackling serious issues. It’s our mission with Street King to really change children’s lives around the world.”

Jackson founded SMS Audio, selling headphones with the name Street by 50. He has pledged to donate a portion of the sales to charity.

Personal life

Jackson has a tattoo of "Marquise" with an axe on his right biceps. "The axe is 'cause I'm a warrior. I don't want him to be one, though," he explains. He also has "50", "Southside", and "Cold World" inscribed on his back because "I'm a product of that environment. It's on my back, though, so it's all behind me."

Family

On October 13, 1997, Jackson's then-girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins gave birth to a son, Marquise Jackson.

The birth of his son changed Jackson's outlook on life: "When my son came into my life, my priorities changed, because I wanted to have the relationship with him, that I didn't have with my father." He credited his son for inspiring his career and being "motivation to go in a different direction".

Politics

In 2005, Jackson expressed support for President George Walker Bush after rapper Kanye West criticized him for the slow response in assisting the Hurricane Katrina victims.

If his felony convictions did not prevent him from voting, he claimed he would have voted for Bush.

He later stated that Bush "has less compassion than the average human. By all means, I don't aspire to be like George Bush."

Wealth

In 2007, Jackson was the second wealthiest performer in the rap industry, behind Jay-Z. He resides in Farmington, Connecticut, in the former mansion of ex-boxer Mike Tyson.

He put the mansion for sale at $18.5 million to move closer to his son who lives in Long Island with his ex-girlfriend. On October 12, 2007, the Mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut declared it "50 Cent Curtis Jackson Day". He was honored with a key to the city and an official proclamation.

One of his homes in New York purchased for 2.4 million dollars in January 2007 and at the center of a lawsuit between Jackson and ex-girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins caught fire on May 30, 2008 while he was out of town filming for a movie in Louisiana.

In December 2008 Jackson told the Canadian press that he had been affected by the recession, losing several million dollars in the stock market as an investor. He also went on to say that he had been unable to sell his Connecticut mansion and pushed ''Before I Self-Destruct'' back because of the recent economic downturn.

Legal issues

On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for helping to sell four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine, and a starter gun.

He was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, but managed to serve six months in a shock incarceration boot camp where he earned his GED. Jackson said that he did not use cocaine himself, he only sold it.

His ex-girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins sued Jackson for $50 million, claiming that he said that he would take care of her for life; the suit, which includes 15 claims was later dismissed by a judge, calling it "an unfortunate tale of a love relationship gone sour."

50 Cent was sentenced to two years probation on July 22, 2005 from an incident in May 2004 when 50 Cent jumped into the audience after being hit with a water bottle. He was charged with three counts of assault and battery.

Lawsuits

On July 21, 2007, Jackson filed a $1 million lawsuit against advertising company Traffix Inc. of Pearl River, New York for using his image in a promotion which he claims threatens his safety.

He became aware of the internet ad after one of his staff members saw it on a MySpace page. According to court documents, the ad features a cartoon image of the rapper and the message: "shoot the rapper and you will win $5000 or five ring tones guaranteed".

Though the ad did not use his name, the image allegedly intended to resemble him, suggesting he endorsed the ad.

The lawsuit calls it a "vile, tasteless and despicable" use of 50 Cent's image that "quite literally calls for violence against him". The lawsuit seeks for unspecified punitive damages and a permanent injunction against the use of his image without permission.

In November 2009, 50 Cent won in a lawsuit against Taco Bell over the fast food chain using his name to promote the brand without his permission.

Feuds

How to Rob

50 Cent said that he intended the single to be a joke, and not meant to disrespect anybody. Nevertheless, a number of rappers mentioned on the song responded on record.

The comments made towards the Wu-Tang Clan were responded to on the Ghostface Killah album ''Supreme Clientele'' on a track called "Ghost Deini" and even more directly on a skit called "Clyde Smith" which included one of the Wu-Tang Clan members talking about how they intended to harm the rapper, which is identifiable as Raekwon when the track is sped up. A supposed diss song, "Who the Fuck Is 50 Cent", which circulated the web in the beginning of 2001 was rumored to be by the Clan, but was proven to be recorded by Polite of American Cream Team (Raekwon's then-side project).

Jay-Z also reacted to the comments in the track called "It's Hot (Some Like It Hot)", off the album ''Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter'':

"Go against Jigga yo' ass is dense I'm about a dollar, what the fuck is 50 Cents?"

Sticky Fingaz responded to the diss with the track "Jackin' for Beats."

"The real 50 from Brooklyn god bless he got outed You just a fake clown who front and rout about it."

Big Pun responds to this track on his album ''Yeeeah Baby'', in the song "My Turn."

"And to the 50 Cent Rapper, very funny – get your nut off, 'cuz in real life, we all know I'd blow your motherfucking head off...If I'm gonna write a song, it'll be about how I had to beat your mothafuckin' ass. And that'll be the name of the motherfucker: 'That's Why I Had To Beat Your Motherfucking Ass', featuring Tony Sunshine."

Kurupt responded on the diss track "Callin' Out Names."

"Now it's 50 mc's that ain't worth shit Get ya ass kicked 50 times, beat to 10 cent"

Wyclef Jean responded on the song "Low Income", from his 2000 album, ''The Ecleftic''.

"I stay so hungry that if 50 Cent came to rob me he'd be part of my charity."

The Inc.

Before signing with Interscope, Jackson engaged in a well-publicized dispute with rapper Ja Rule and his label The Inc.. Jackson claims that a friend robbed Ja Rule of his jewelry and that Ja Rule accused him of setting it up. However, Ja Rule claimed the conflict stemmed from a video shoot in Queens because Jackson did not like seeing him "getting so much love" from the neighborhood. In March 2000, while at The Hit Factory studio in New York, Jackson had an altercation with Murder Inc. associates. He was treated for three stitches after receiving a stab wound. Rapper Black Child claimed responsibility for the stabbing, saying he acted in self-defense because he thought someone reached for a gun.

An affidavit by an IRS agent suggested that Murder Inc. had ties to Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a New York drug lord who was suspected of being involved in the murder of Jam Master Jay and the shooting of Jackson. An excerpt of the affidavit read:

In an interview with MTV, Ja Rule acknowledged his defeat against 50 Cent and stated that his new album, The Mirror, will not be continuing any past feuds that he has engaged in. He said: There was a lot of things I wanted to say, and I didn't want there to be any bitter records on the album. Because I'm not bitter about anything that happened [in the past few years].

Fat Joe, Nas & Jadakiss

Before releasing ''The Massacre'', Jackson recorded a song "Piggy Bank", a response to Ja Rule's song "New York", which was leaked before the album's release. The song takes aim at rappers including Fat Joe, Nas, and Jadakiss. Fat Joe responded with a song, "My Fofo", accusing Jackson of taking steroids, hiding in his home, and being jealous of The Game. Jadakiss also responded with a song, "Checkmate", and said that Jackson was trying to "create a buzz for his new album". The "Piggy Bank" music video portrays animated caricatures of Jadakiss (as a Ninja turtle), Fat Joe (as King Hippo from ''Mike Tyson's Punch-Out''), Nas (as a kid chasing a "milkshake" truck in a Superman costume), and The Game (as Mr. Potato Head). He also disses all of them on the beef version of his single "Window Shopper" Kelis, Nas's then-wife, responded to the song on her single "Bossy". Nas later responded with "Don't Body Ya Self (MC Burial)." Nas later dissed 50 on the song "Street Ridaz" on Game's mixtape "Brake Lights".

Sean Combs

Jackson spoke negatively about Bad Boy Entertainment mogul Sean Combs and recorded a song, "Hip-Hop", revealing the reasons behind his negative feelings: primarily, a contract dispute over Mase. In the song, he implied that Diddy knew about The Notorious B.I.G.'s murder and threatened to expose him through former associates. The feud was resolved, with both rappers appearing on MTV's ''TRL'' and ''Sucker Free'', respectively, stating that there were no longer problems. The feud reignited in 2010 with 50 Cent dissing Diddy, saying his music "sucks".

Cam'ron

On February 1, 2007, Cam'ron and Jackson had a live argument on ''The Angie Martinez Show'' on Hot 97 radio. Jackson commented that Koch Entertainment was a "graveyard", meaning major record labels would not work with their artists. Cam'ron then ridiculed the record sales of G-Unit members Lloyd Banks and Mobb Deep by stating that Jim Jones outsold their albums despite being signed to an independent label and that his group, The Diplomats, had a distribution deal from several labels. Both rappers released "diss" songs with videos on YouTube. Jackson suggested in "Funeral Music" that Cam'ron is no longer able to lead The Diplomats and that Jim Jones should take his place. Cam'ron responded with "Curtis" and "Curtis Pt. II", in which he makes fun of Jackson's appearance, calling him "a gorilla, with rabbit teeth". Jackson responded by releasing "Hold On" with Young Buck.

Game

Although he was close with The Game, before The Game released his debut album ''The Documentary'', they soon became at odds. After its release, Jackson felt The Game was disloyal for saying he did not want to participate in G-Unit's feuds with other rappers and even wanting to work with artists they were feuding with. He also claimed that he wrote six songs on the album and was not receiving proper credit for his work, which The Game denied.

Jackson later dismissed The Game from G-Unit on Hot 97 radio. After the announcement, The Game, who was a guest earlier in the evening, attempted to enter the building with his entourage. After being denied entry, one of his associates was shot in the leg during a confrontation with a group of men leaving the building. When the situation escalated, both rappers held a press conference to announce their reconciliation. Fans had mixed feelings as to whether the rappers created a publicity stunt to boost the sales of the albums they had just released. Nevertheless, even after the situation deflated, G-Unit criticized The Game's street credibility. The group denounced The Game and announced that they will not be featured on his albums. During a Summer Jam performance, The Game launched a boycott of G-Unit called "G-Unot".

After the performance at Summer Jam, The Game responded with "300 Bars and Runnin'", an extended "diss" aimed at G-Unit as well as members of Roc-A-Fella Records on the mixtape ''You Know What It Is Vol. 3''. Jackson responded through his "Piggy Bank" music video, which features The Game as a Mr. Potato Head doll and also parodies other rivals. Since then both groups continued to attack each other. The Game released two more mixtapes, ''Ghost Unit'' and a mixtape/DVD called ''Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin''.

Jackson posted a cover of The Game's head on the body of a male stripper for "Hate It or Love It (G-Unit Radio Part 21)" mixtape, as a response to The Game displaying pictures of G-Unit dressed as Village People. Although he was signed to Aftermath Entertainment, The Game left the label and signed with Geffen Records to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit (although others claim Jackson pressured Dr. Dre to kick him off). G-Unit member Spider Loc had also began to insult The Game on various songs. In addition, The Game released "240 Bars (Spider Joke)" and "100 Bars (The Funeral)" both attacking G-Unit, Spider Loc and others. Jackson's response was "Not Rich, Still Lyin'" where he mocks The Game. Lloyd Banks replied to the Game on a Rap City freestyle booth session. The Game quickly released a "diss" record called "SoundScan" where The Game pokes fun at Lloyd Banks' album ''Rotten Apple'' falling thirteen spots on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and disappointing second week sales. Lloyd Banks replied on his mixtape ''Mo' Money In The Bank Pt. 5: Gang Green Season Continues'' with a song called "Showtime (The Game's Over)". Lloyd Banks states that Jackson wrote half of The Game's first album ''The Documentary'' and pokes fun at The Game's suicidal thoughts.

In October 2006, The Game extended a peace treaty to Jackson, which was not immediately replied to. However, a couple days later, on Power 106, he stated that the treaty was only offered for one day. On The Game's album, ''Doctor's Advocate'', he claims that the feud is over on a few of the songs.

In July 2009, The Game stated the beef was squashed with help from Michael Jackson and Diddy, and he apologized for his actions during the beef. Tony Yayo said that neither Jackson (50 Cent) or G-Unit would accept his apology. Since then, The Game continued his old "G-Unot" ways at live concerts. Jackson released "So Disrespectful" a diss song on ''Before I Self Destruct'' targeting Jay-Z, The Game and Young Buck. Game later responded with the song "Shake", poking fun of the music video for 50's single "Candy Shop", quote, "Me and 50 aint agreeing on shit so I had to (Shake) Aint no telling what he putting in that protein (Shake) Seen the candy shop video look at this nigga (Shake) And thats the same shit that made the nigga Young Buck (Shake)". He also takes shots at Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo, in which he says, "I'm surprised that Lloyd Banks and Yayo didn't (Shake) Wasn't selling no records Jimmy Iovine said (Shake)". Game also dissed G-Unit several times on the song "400 Bars".

In September 2011, 50 Cent dissed Game on the song "Love, Hate, Love", in which Game responded to on his twitter, saying he was going to diss him back after his tour was finished, quote:

Rick Ross

In January 2009, Rick Ross started a feud with 50 Cent because he supposedly looked at him the wrong way at the BET Awards. However, Jackson told news sources that he did not even remember seeing Rick Ross there. In late January, a track entitled "Mafia Music" by Rick Ross, leaked onto the Internet. There were several lines that seem to diss Jackson. Days later, Jackson released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to Rick Ross's disparaging remarks on his "Mafia Music" song. The next day Rick Ross appeared on Shade 45, and told Jackson to come up with something better in 24 hours.

Before going to Venezuela, Jackson uploaded a video entitled "Warning Shot", where he warns Rick Ross: ''"I'ma fuck your life up for fun"''. In addition, Jackson released the first of a series of "Officer Ricky" cartoons. Early February, Jackson once again made a video which he uploaded to YouTube where he interviews "Tia", the mother of one of Rick Ross's children. She verifies his being a correctional officer and claims his whole persona is fake and fraudulent. On Thursday, February 5, 2009, The Game, who Jackson has a long-standing "beef" with, called up Seattle's KUBE 93 Radio Station. When asked about the beef between Jackson and Rick Ross, The Game sided with Jackson and said that things are not looking good for Rick Ross. However, he offered to help Rick Ross get out of this situation, stating ''"Rick Ross, holla at your boy, man,"'' and ''"50 eating you'', boy."

On his album ''Deeper Than Rap'', Ross references Jackson in the song "In Cold Blood". A video for the song was released that portrayed Jackson's mock funeral. Upon release, Ross stated that he has ended Jackson's career.

In an interview, Jackson said: "Rick Ross is Albert From CB4. You ever seen the movie? He's Albert," he added. "It never gets worse than this. You get a guy that was a correctional officer come out and base his entire career on writing material from a drug dealer's perspective such as "Freeway" Ricky Ross."

Lil Wayne

After hearing word that Lil Wayne had prepared a song for him after 50 made some unkind remarks, 50 lashed out at Wayne first on August 17, 2007 with the song "Part Time Lover". Wayne never really responded to the song, although a 50 Cent diss track called "Louisianimal" did leak much later on November 17, 2008. Jackson responded to Lil Wayne in January 2009 in a song entitled "Play This On The Radio". As of August 14, 2009, the controversy between Jackson and Lil Wayne seems to have ended after Jackson appeared and performed at Lil Wayne's America's Most Wanted Musical Festival stop in Anaheim, California.

Young Buck

''Main article: 50 Cent vs. Young Buck''

After numerous rumors of a "beef" within G-Unit, Jackson officially dismissed Young Buck from the group, in 2008. He later assured that he was still signed with the label. Numerous slander songs then arose on the internet from both camps, with Young Buck appearing in a music video of former rival The Game. Jackson then leaked a taped phone conversation between himself and Young Buck, which showed one of the true reasons for the falling out; Jackson was owed money by the Southern rapper. Young Buck later stated the conversation took place over a year before the leak. The two camps have since released a multitude of songs against each other, with the feud settling down by 2009, with Young Buck stating he's been working on his latest album, which is still to be released under the G-Unit label.

Discography

''Get Rich or Die Tryin''' (2003)

''The Massacre'' (2005)

''Curtis'' (2007)

''Before I Self Destruct'' (2009)

''Fifth studio album'' (2012)

Awards and nominations

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	''50 Cent: The New Breed''	Himself	Documentary DVD
2005		Marcus	Film debut
2006		Jamal Aiken	Supporting Role
	''Righteous Kill''	Spider	Supporting Role
	Clarence	Supporting Role
''50 Cent: The Money and the Power''	Himself	TV series (one episode: "Choose Your Crew Wisely")
	''Streets of Blood''	Stan Johnson
	Himself	TV series (Season 6, Episode 3: "One Car, Two Car, Red Car, Blue Car")
	Thigo
''Caught in the Crossfire''	Tino	Executive producer
		Jimy
	Rich
	Lionel	Supporting Role
	Himself
		Black	Post-production
''Blood Out''	Hardwick
	Sonny
	''All Things Fall Apart''	Deon
	Malo
	–	Producer
	Shamus Cocobolo
		Pre-production

Voice work

Year	Title	Role	Notes
	''The Simpsons''	Himself	TV series (one episode: "Pranksta Rap")
''50 Cent: Bulletproof''	Himself	Video game, voice only
	''50 Cent: Blood on the Sand''	Himself	Video game, voice only
''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2''		Video game, voice only

References

External links

50 Cent at AOL Sessions

* Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from New York City Category:African-American businesspeople Category:African American film actors Category:African-American film producers Category:African American rappers Category:African American record producers Category:Aftermath Entertainment artists Category:American investors Category:American music industry executives Category:American shooting survivors Category:American stock traders Category:American video game actors Category:Brit Award winners Category:Echo winners Category:Businesspeople from New York City Category:Grammy Award winners Category:G-Unit members Category:Hip hop singers Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:People from Queens Category:Pseudonymous rappers Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Shady Records artists Category:Survivors of stabbing Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:World Music Awards winners

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Coordinates	6°7′55″N1°13′22″N
Name	Triple H
Names	Triple HHunter Hearst HelmsleyJean-Paul LévesqueTerra Ryzing
Height
Weight
Birth date	July 27, 1969
Birth place	Nashua, New Hampshire
Resides	Greenwich, Connecticut
Work	Wrestler and actor
Years active	1994–present (wrestler)2004–present (actor)
Billed	Greenwich, Connecticut
Trainer	Killer Kowalski
Debut	March 24, 1992
Retired	}}

Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969) is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of his former ring name, ''Hunter Hearst Helmsley''. He currently appears as the Chief Operating Officer of WWE.

Levesque began his wrestling career in the International Wrestling Federation as Terra Ryzing before joining World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1994. After briefly using the Ryzing name, he changed his character to Jean-Paul Lévesque, a French-Canadian aristocrat which would be similar to his character Hunter Hearst Helmsley, that he used in his early years with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1995 onward. He later abbreviated his name to Triple H and adopted an alternative image in the stable D-Generation X (DX). After the dissolution of DX, Triple H was pushed as a main event wrestler, winning several singles championships. As part of a storyline, Triple H married Stephanie McMahon, who later became his real-life spouse. In 2003, Triple H formed another stable known as Evolution, and in 2006 and 2009, reformed DX with Shawn Michaels.

Overall, Levesque has won 23 championships in WWE, including 13 World Championships, having won the WWF/E Championship eight times, and the World Heavyweight Championship five times. He has the highest total number of world title reigns sanctioned in WWE, and is recognized as having the second highest total in history, after Ric Flair, with 16. In addition, Levesque won the 1997 King of the Ring, the 2002 Royal Rumble, and was the second Grand Slam Championship winner. Outside of wrestling, Levesque has made numerous guest appearances in film and on television.

Professional wrestling career

Early life

Paul Levesque was born in Nashua, New Hampshire. In his youth, he was a fan of professional wrestling and his favorite wrestler was Ric Flair. Levesque became aware of bodybuilding at the age of fourteen; after graduating from high school in 1987, Levesque entered several bodybuilding competitions. He was crowned Teenage Mr. Ola Ex 10 in 1988.

World Championship Wrestling (1994–95)

In early 1994, Levesque signed a one year contract with World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In his first televised match, Levesque debuted as a villain named Terror Risin' and defeated Keith Cole. His ring name was soon modified to Terra Ryzing, which he used until mid-1994, when he was renamed Jean-Paul Lévesque. This gimmick referred to his surname's French origins and he was asked to speak with a French accent, as he could not speak French. During this time, he began using his finishing maneuver, the ''Pedigree''.

Levesque had a brief storyline feud with Alex Wright that ended at Starrcade 1994 with Wright pinning him. Between late 1994 and early 1995, Levesque briefly teamed with Lord Steven Regal, whose snobby British persona was similar to Levesque's character. The team was short-lived, however, as Levesque left for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in January 1995 after WCW turned down his request to be pushed as a singles competitor.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

The Connecticut Blueblood (1995–97)

As a continuation of his gimmick in WCW, Levesque started his WWF career as the "Connecticut Blueblood" Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Levesque appeared in taped vignettes, in which he talked about how to use proper etiquette, up until his wrestling debut on the April 30, 1995 episode of ''WWF Wrestling Challenge''.

Although he was heavily pushed in the first few months after his debut, Levesque's career stalled during 1996, starting off with being mired in a feud with Duke "The Dumpster" Droese following a loss during the ''Free for All'' at the 1996 Royal Rumble. Up until that event, his angle included appearing on television each week with a different female valet (which included Playboy Playmates Shae Marks and Tylyn John). Sable was his valet at WrestleMania XII, and after his loss to Ultimate Warrior, as part of the storyline, he took his aggressions out on her. The debuting Marc Mero—her real-life husband—came to her rescue, starting a feud between the two wrestlers.

During 1996, Helmsley appeared on an episode of ''WWF Superstars'' in a match against Marty Garner. When Levesque attempted to perform the ''Pedigree'', Garner mistook the maneuver for a double underhook suplex and tried to jump up with the move, causing him to land squarely on top of his head and suffer neck damage. Garner sued the WWF, eventually settling out of court and later discussed the incident in an appearance on ''The Montel Williams Show''.

Levesque was known backstage as one of the members of The Kliq, a group of wrestlers including Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman and Scott Hall, who were known for influencing Vince McMahon and the WWF creative team. It has been claimed that he was scheduled to win the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, but the victory was instead awarded to Stone Cold Steve Austin after the Madison Square Garden Incident, in which the Kliq broke character after a match to say goodbye to the departing Nash and Hall. Despite the punishment, Helmsley did have several successes following the MSG Incident. Mr. Perfect became his manager and he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship for the first time on October 21, 1996, defeating Marc Mero. When Mr. Perfect left the WWF, his departure was explained to be a result of Helmsley turning his back on his manager as soon as he won the Intercontinental Championship. Levesque held the belt for nearly four months before dropping it to Rocky Maivia on the February 13, 1997 special edition of ''Monday Night Raw'', called ''Thursday Raw Thursday''. For a very brief time, Helmsley was accompanied by Mr. Hughes, who was his storyline bodyguard. After losing the Intercontinental title, he feuded with Goldust, defeating him at WrestleMania 13. During their feud, Chyna debuted as his new bodyguard.

D-Generation X (1997–99)

Helmsley's push resumed in 1997, when he won the 1997 King of the Ring tournament by defeating Mankind in the finals. Later that year, Shawn Michaels, Helmsley, Chyna and Rick Rude formed D-Generation X (DX). This stable later became known for pushing the envelope, as Michaels and Helmsley made risqué promos—spawning the catchphrase "Suck It", using a "crotch chop" hand motion, and sarcastically deriding Bret Hart and Canada. By that point, Helmsley had fully dropped the "blueblood snob" gimmick, appearing in T-shirts and leather. During this period, his ring name was shortened to simply Triple H. Even after the DX versus Hart Foundation storyline ended, Helmsley continued to feud with the sole remaining member Owen Hart over the WWF European Championship. This ended in a match between the two at WrestleMania XIV, with the stipulation that Chyna had to be handcuffed to then-Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter. Helmsley won after Chyna threw powder into Slaughter's eyes, momentarily "blinding" him and allowing her to interfere in the match.

After WrestleMania, Michaels was forced into temporary retirement due to a legitimate back injury sustained at the Royal Rumble, with Triple H taking over the leadership position in DX, claiming that his now-former associate had "dropped the ball". He introduced the returning X-Pac the night after WrestleMania and joined forces with the New Age Outlaws. As 1998 went along, D-Generation X became more popular, turning the group from villains to fan-favorites. It was also during this time that Triple H began a feud with the leader of the Nation of Domination and rising WWF villain, The Rock. This storyline rivalry eventually led to a feud over the Intercontinental Championship, which Triple H won in a ladder match at SummerSlam. He did not hold the title long, however, as he was sidelined with a legitimate knee injury. When The Rock won the WWF Championship at Survivor Series, the rivalry between the two continued, as DX fought The Corporation stable, of which The Rock was the main star. Triple H received a shot at the WWF Championship on the January 25, 1999 edition of ''Raw'' in an "I Quit" match against The Rock, but the match ended when Triple H was forced to quit or see his aide Chyna chokeslammed by Kane. This began a new angle for Triple H, as Chyna betrayed him by attacking him after the match and joining The Corporation.

At WrestleMania XV, Triple H beat Kane with the aid of Chyna, who was thought to have rejoined DX. Later on in the night, he betrayed his long-time friend and fellow DX member X-Pac by helping Shane McMahon retain the European Championship and joined The Corporation. turning heel in the process. After Triple H's heel turn in early 1999, he moved away from his DX look, taping his fists for matches, sporting new and shorter wrestling trunks, and adopting a shorter hairstyle. Levesque's gimmick changed as he fought to earn a WWF title shot. After numerous failed attempts at winning the championship, Triple H and Mankind challenged WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin to a Triple Threat match at SummerSlam, which featured Jesse "The Body" Ventura as the special guest referee. Mankind won the match by pinning Austin. The following night on ''Raw'', Triple H defeated Mankind to win his first WWF Championship.

Triple H dropped the WWF Championship to Vince McMahon on the September 16, 1999 edition of ''SmackDown!'' before regaining it at Unforgiven in a Six-Pack Challenge that included Davey Boy Smith, Big Show, Kane, The Rock, and Mankind. He defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin at No Mercy before dropping the title to Big Show at Survivor Series. Triple H then continued his feud with Vince McMahon by marrying his daughter, Stephanie McMahon. He then defeated McMahon at Armageddon. As a result of the feud, an angle with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon began which carried the WWF throughout the next seventeen months; together they were known as the "McMahon-Helmsley Faction".

McMahon–Helmsley Era (2000–01)

By January 2000, Triple H dubbed himself "The Game," implying that he was on top of the wrestling world and was nicknamed "The Cerebral Assassin" by Jim Ross. On the January 3 edition of Raw is War, Triple H defeated The Big Show to win his third WWF championship.

Triple H feuded with Mick Foley in early 2000. They both fought at the Royal Rumble in a Street Fight Match for the WWF Championship, which Triple won after doing two pedigrees on Foley. The storyline would come to an end at No Way Out in a Hell in a Cell where if Mick Foley lost he would have to retire. Triple H retained his title at the PPV and thus ending Mick Foley's fifteen year career. Triple H pinned The Rock at WrestleMania 2000 to retain the title, but lost it at Backlash to The Rock. He regained it three weeks later, in an Iron Man match at Judgment Day, only to lose it back to The Rock at King of the Ring. Triple H then entered a storyline feud with Chris Jericho, which culminated in a Last Man Standing match at Fully Loaded.

A later storyline feud between Triple H and Steve Austin started when it emerged that Triple H had paid off Rikishi to run down Austin at Survivor Series, causing him to take a year off. In reality, Austin's previous neck injuries started bothering him again, forcing him to have surgery. In 2000, Triple H and Austin had a match at Survivor Series that ended when Triple H tried to trick Austin into coming into the parking lot to run him over again, only to have Austin lift his car up with a forklift and flip the car onto its roof 10 feet high. Triple H returned a few weeks later and attacked Austin. The feud continued into 2001 and ended in a Three Stages of Hell match in which Helmsley defeated Austin. In 2001, Triple H also feuded with The Undertaker, who defeated him at WrestleMania X-Seven. The night after WrestleMania, Triple H interfered in a steel cage match between Austin (who had just won the WWF Championship) and The Rock where he joined forces with Austin and double teamed on The Rock, forming a tag team called The Two-Man Power Trip. Triple H then defeated Chris Jericho for his third Intercontinental Championship on the April 5 edition of ''SmackDown!'', and won it for a fourth time two weeks later by defeating Jeff Hardy. Triple H then became a tag team champion for the first time at Backlash when he and Austin defeated Kane and The Undertaker in a winner-take-all tag match. As Triple H was still Intercontinental Champion, the win made him a double champion.

During the May 21, 2001 episode of ''Raw'', he suffered a legitimate and career-threatening injury. In the night's main event, he and Austin were defending the Tag Team Championship against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. At one point, Jericho had Austin trapped in the Walls of Jericho. Triple H ran in to break it up, but just as he did, he suffered a tear in his left quadriceps muscle, causing it to come completely off the bone. Despite his inability to place any weight on his leg, Triple H was able to complete the match. He even allowed Jericho to put him in the ''Walls of Jericho'', a move that places considerable stress on the quadriceps. The tear required an operation, which was performed by orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews. This injury brought an abrupt end to the McMahon-Helmsley Era, as the rigorous rehabilitation process kept Triple H out of action for over eight months, completely missing The Invasion storyline.

Return from injury and Shawn Michaels feud (2002)

Triple H returned to ''Raw'' as a face on January 7, 2002 at Madison Square Garden. He won the Royal Rumble and received an Undisputed WWF Championship match at WrestleMania X8. At WrestleMania X8, Triple H beat Chris Jericho for the Undisputed Championship. After holding the title for a month, Helmsley dropped it to Hulk Hogan at Backlash. Triple H then became exclusive to the ''SmackDown!'' roster due to the WWF Draft Lottery and continued to feud with Jericho, culminating in a Hell in a Cell match at Judgment Day. On June 6, Triple H defeated Hogan in a Number One Contenders match for the Undisputed Championship at the King of the Ring against The Undertaker but was unsuccessful at the event.

In the interim, between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, the McMahon-Helmsley Faction was brought to an official on-screen conclusion. By the time he returned, Triple H's on-screen marriage to Stephanie McMahon was on the rocks, so Stephanie faked a pregnancy in order to get him back on her side. When he learned that it was fake, he dumped her publicly on Raw when they were supposed to renew their wedding vows. Stephanie aligned with Jericho afterward, but she was forced to leave after losing a Triple Threat match on ''Raw'' the night after WrestleMania when she was pinned by Triple H. The divorce, and thus the storyline, was finalized at Vengeance.

Meanwhile, Shawn Michaels had made his return to WWE and joined the New World Order (NWO). Michaels and Kevin Nash planned to bring Triple H over to Raw in order to put him into the group. Vince McMahon, however, disbanded the nWo following several backstage complications and brought in Eric Bischoff as the Raw brand's new general manager. One of Bischoff's first intentions was to follow up on the nWo's plan and bring Triple H over to the Raw roster. Triple H did indeed go to the Raw brand, reuniting with Shawn Michaels, but on July 22 he turned on Michaels by performing a Pedigree on him during what was supposed to be a DX reunion, turning heel once again. The following week, Triple H smashed Michaels' face into a car window to prove that Michaels was weak. These events led to the beginning of a long storyline rivalry between the former partners and an eventual "Unsanctioned Street Fight" at SummerSlam, in which Michaels came out of retirement to win. Afterwards, however, Triple H attacked him with a sledgehammer, and Michaels was carried out of the ring.

Before September 2, 2002, WWE recognized only one champion for both the Raw and SmackDown! brands. After SummerSlam, champion Brock Lesnar became exclusive to SmackDown!, leaving Raw without a champion. Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff then awarded Triple H the Big Gold Belt (which had been used for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and WCW World Heavyweight Championship) making him the first World Heavyweight Champion of the WWE brand. Triple H retained his title against Rob Van Dam at Unforgiven when Ric Flair hit RVD with a sledgehammer, and against Kane at No Mercy in a title unification match in which Triple H won the Intercontinental Championship and unified it with his World Heavyweight Championship, but he eventually dropped the belt to Shawn Michaels in the first ever Elimination Chamber match at Survivor Series. He defeated RVD for the title shot at Armageddon with Michaels as special referee. He regained the title from Michaels in a Three Stages of Hell match at Armageddon.

Evolution (2003–05)

In January 2003, Triple H formed a stable known as Evolution with Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista. Triple H and Ric Flair challenged RVD and Kane for the World Tag Team Titles, but they lost the match. The group was pushed on Raw from 2003 to 2004. The height of their dominance occurred after Armageddon when every member of Evolution left the pay-per-view holding a title. Triple H held the World Heavyweight Championship for most of 2003 until Unforgiven, losing the title to Bill Goldberg. After a failed attempt to win back the title from Goldberg in a rematch at the Survivor Series, he finally regained the championship against Goldberg in a triple threat match at Armageddon which also involved Kane. At the 2004 Royal Rumble, Triple H and Shawn Michaels fought in a Last Man Standing match to a double countout, so Triple H retained the title as a result. Triple H dropped the title to Chris Benoit at WrestleMania XX, and he was unable to reclaim the belt from Benoit in subsequent rematches, including a rematch from WrestleMania between Triple H, Benoit, and Shawn Michaels at Backlash.

He then ended his feud with Michaels, defeating him in a Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood. After another failed attempt, losing to Benoit at Vengeance, he focused on Eugene, beating him at SummerSlam. Triple H then regained the title from former associate Randy Orton at Unforgiven. Following a Triple Threat World Heavyweight title defense against Benoit and Edge on the November 29, 2004 episode of ''Raw'', the World Heavyweight Championship became vacant for the first time. At New Year's Revolution, Triple H won the Elimination Chamber to begin his tenth world title reign. At WrestleMania 21, Triple H lost the championship to Batista, and subsequently lost two rematches at Backlash and Vengeance. After Vengeance, Triple H took hiatus from WWE due to suffering from his minor neck problems.

After four month hiatus, Triple H returned to Raw on October 3, 2005 as part of ''WWE Homecoming''. He teamed with fellow Evolution member Flair to defeat Chris Masters and Carlito. After the match, Triple H turned on Flair hitting Flair with a sledgehammer, sparking a feud between the duo. Flair defeated Triple H in a Steel cage match at Taboo Tuesday for Flair's Intercontinental Championship. Subsequently, Triple H defeated Flair in a non-title Last Man Standing match at Survivor Series to end their feud.

D-Generation X reunion (2006–07)

Although Triple H failed to win the Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble, another championship opportunity arose for Triple H in the ''Road to WrestleMania Tournament''. He won the tournament, granting him a match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 22. At WrestleMania, Triple H and John Cena fought in the main event for the title, which Triple H lost via submission. Later that month at Backlash, Triple H was involved in another WWE Championship match, fighting Edge and Cena in a Triple Threat match, where he lost again. In an act of frustration, a bloodied Triple H used his sledgehammer to attack both Edge and Cena and then performed a number of DX crotch chops. Triple H unsuccessfully attempted to win the WWE title from Cena on numerous occasions, blaming his shortcomings on Vince McMahon, which eventually led to a feud between the McMahons and Triple H. Shawn Michaels returned on the June 12 edition of ''Raw'' and soon reunited with Triple H to reform D-Generation X, turning Triple H into a fan-favorite once again for the first time since 2002. DX defeated the Spirit Squad at Vengeance in a 5-on-2 handicap match. They continued their feud with Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and the Spirit Squad for several weeks. They then defeated the Spirit Squad again on the July 18, 2006 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event in a 5-on-2 Elimination match. They then again defeated the McMahons at SummerSlam, withstanding the attack of several handpicked WWE superstars by Vince McMahon. At Unforgiven, D-Generation X overcame the odds once again, defeating The McMahons and ECW World Champion Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match. During the match, DX embarrassed Vince by shoving his face in between Big Show's buttocks, and DX won when Triple H broke a sledgehammer over the shoulders of Vince McMahon after Michaels performed ''Sweet Chin Music'' on him.

At Cyber Sunday during DX's feud with Rated-RKO, special guest referee Eric Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a weapon to give Rated-RKO the win. At Survivor Series, DX got their revenge when their team defeated Edge and Orton's team in an Elimination Match. In January 2007, at New Year's Revolution, DX and Rated-RKO fought to a no-contest after Triple H suffered a legitimate torn right quadriceps (similar to the one he suffered in 2001 but in the other leg) fifteen minutes into the match. Surgery was successfully performed on January 9, 2007 by Dr. James Andrews.

WWE Champion (2007–09)

Triple H made his return at SummerSlam, where he defeated King Booker. After his return, he won the WWE Championship at No Mercy after beating the newly named Champion, Randy Orton, making Triple H an eleven-time world champion. In the same event, Triple H also defeated Umaga in his first title defense after Mr. McMahon declared his already-scheduled bout with Umaga, a title match. McMahon then announced, Orton would receive a title rematch in a Last Man Standing match in the final match of the event, which Orton won after an ''RKO'' onto the announcer's table, thus ending Triple H's sixth reign. Triple H's title reign at No Mercy is the fifth shortest reign in WWE history, only lasting through the duration of the event. After winning the Raw Elimination Chamber at No Way Out, Triple H gained a WWE Championship match, by outlasting five other men, last eliminating Jeff Hardy after a Pedigree on a steel chair. However, at WrestleMania XXIV, Randy Orton retained after punting Triple H and pinning John Cena following Triple H's ''Pedigree'' on Cena. A month later, at Backlash, Triple H won the title in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match against Orton, Cena, and John "Bradshaw" Layfield, tying the record for most WWE Championship reigns with The Rock. Triple H then retained the title against Orton at Judgment Day in a Steel Cage match and again at One Night Stand in a Last Man Standing match. Orton suffered a legitimate collarbone injury during the match, thus ending the feud prematurely.

On June 23, 2008 edition of ''Raw'', Triple H was drafted to the SmackDown brand as a part of the 2008 WWE Draft, in the process making the WWE Championship exclusive to SmackDown. At The Great American Bash, he defeated Edge in main event. At SummerSlam, The Great Khali was the number one contender for Triple H's WWE Championship, but was Triple H retained his title after hitting a Pedigree. At Unforgiven, Triple H narrowly retained the title in a Championship Scramble match. Jeff Hardy was then named Triple H's opponent for No Mercy, but the champion retained the title. At Cyber Sunday the fans voted for Hardy for becoming the number one contender, but Hunter narrowly defeated him again, and retained his WWE Championship.

During a match at Survivor Series between WWE Champion Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov, The Smackdown General Manager Vickie Guerrero announced that Edge had returned and the making the match a triple threat match. During the match Jeff Hardy interfered and nailed Triple H with a steel chair meant for Edge, thus costing him the title, and resulting in Edge winning his sixth World Title. T Armageddon, Triple H faced Hardy and Edge in a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship, but failed to regain the title after Jeff Hardy pinned then champion Edge to win the match and the title. Triple H entered at number 7 in the 2009 Royal Rumble, but was last eliminated by Randy Orton. In February at Elimination Chamber Smackdown match Triple H won his 13th times World Champion making him the second most WWE reign a total of 8.

The Legacy feud and DX farewell (2009–11)

On the February 16, 2009 episode of ''Raw'', Triple H made an appearance aiding Stephanie and Shane McMahon, after they were attacked by Randy Orton. On the February 20 episode of ''SmackDown'', Triple H was interviewed by Jim Ross, in the interview, footage was shown highlighting the events that occurred on the February 16 episode of ''Raw''. Ross asked Triple H how he felt seeing that footage, in response, he broke character (after 5 years of marriage) by admitting that Vince McMahon is his father-in-law, that Shane is his brother-in-law, and that Stephanie is his wife, thus creating a rivalry between Triple H and Orton. On the February 23 episode of ''Raw'', Triple H confronted Orton, before attacking him, Ted DiBiase, and Cody Rhodes (a group known as The Legacy) with a sledgehammer and chasing them from the arena. Weeks later, it was announced that Triple H would defend the WWE championship against Orton at WrestleMania XXV. At the event, Triple H defeated Orton to retain the title.Triple H would later face Orton and Legacy in a six man tag team match with Shane McMahon and Batista for the WWE championship at Backlash (2009). Triple H lost the title after trying to stop Batista from hitting Cody Rhodes with a chair then being hit with a RKO by Orton followed by the running punt to the head, allowing Orton to win the WWE championship and putting Hunter out of action for six weeks. At The Bash, Triple H would lose to Orton in a Three Stages of Hell match for the WWE Title. At Night of Champions, Triple H would again lose to Orton in a match for the WWE Championship, this time in a Triple Threat match, also involving John Cena. On the August 10, 2009 episode of ''Raw'', video segments aired in which Triple H met with Michaels at an office cafeteria in Texas where he was working as a chef; throughout the segments, Triple H would try to convince Michaels return to WWE from hiatus. After several incidents during the segments (including a grease grill burgers on fire and Shawn shouting at a little girl), Michaels agreed to team with Triple H to face The Legacy at SummerSlam, superkicking the girl, and quitting from his chef job in the process. On the August 17 episode of ''Raw'', in St. Louis, MO, Michaels and Triple H officially reunited as DX, but as they were in the process of their in-ring promo, Legacy attacked them both. Their first match after reuniting was against Legacy at SummerSlam, which they won. At Breaking Point, however, they lost to Legacy in the first ever Submissions Count Anywhere match in WWE history.

At the October pay-per-view Hell in a Cell, DX defeated Legacy in a Hell in a Cell match. DX would challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship in a triple threat match at Survivor Series with both men failing to win the title, although they were able to retain their friendship and tag team partnership. On December 13 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, DX defeated Chris Jericho and The Big Show to win the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match; the first tag team championship reign for Michaels and Triple H as a tag team.

On December 21, Triple H announced that Hornswoggle was the new DX mascot. This came about after Hornswoggle sued DX for emotional and physical distress due to them not allowing him to join DX. After being taken to court where they were ruled guilty by a jury and judge consisting of dwarves, Michaels told Triple H that Hornswoggle could be the mascot. Triple H agreed to it only if the charges were dropped, which Hornswoggle agreed to. On January 11 Mike Tyson, who was the ''Raw'' guest host for the night, teamed with Jericho to face DX; however, at the end of the bout, Tyson turned on Jericho and aligned himself with Michaels and Triple H. On the February 8, 2010 episode of ''Raw'', DX lost their Unified Tag Team Titles to ShoMiz (The Miz and The Big Show) in a Triple Threat Elimination Tag Team match also featuring The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk and Luke Gallows.) On the March 1 episode of ''Raw'' they lost their rematch for the titles which would be their last televised match before Michaels retired. Michaels and Triple H had a non-wrestling reunion at the 2010 Tribute to the Troops. On February 21, Triple H eliminated WWE Champion Sheamus in an Elimination Chamber match, though he would not win the title himself. Sheamus attacked him weeks later, setting up a match between the two at WrestleMania XXVI, where Triple H was victorious. Also at WrestleMania, Shawn Michaels lost to The Undertaker and was forced to retire, but while giving a farewell speech the next night, Sheamus attacked him. This would set up a rematch at Extreme Rules where Sheamus attacked Triple H at the start of the show ahead of a win in their scheduled contest to allow Triple H time off to recover from injuries. Triple H made an untelevised appearance on October 30 at the WWE Fan Appreciation Event and also at the 2010 ''Tribute to the Troops''.

On the February 21, 2011 episode of ''Raw'', Triple H made his return to the WWE by interrupting the return of The Undertaker. He challenged him to a match at WrestleMania XXVII, which later became a No Holds Barred match. A week later he put Sheamus through the announce table with a Pedigree, in retaliation for Sheamus giving him a 10 month injury. At WrestleMania XXVII, Triple H lost to The Undertaker, extending The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak to 19–0.

Chief Operating Officer (2011)

At the end of the July 18, 2011 episode of ''Raw'', Triple H returned on behalf of WWE's board of directors to relieve his father-in-law Mr. McMahon of his duties. This was followed by the announcement that he had been assigned to take over as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the WWE. This was during a storyline where CM Punk had won the WWE Championship and left the company. Though a new champion was crowned, Triple H helped resign CM Punk and upheld both championship reigns. He announced he would referee a match to unify both WWE Championships at SummerSlam. Although he counted a pinfall for CM Punk to win, John Cena's leg was on the ropes which would break the pin. Immediately after the match, Triple H's longtime friend Kevin Nash attacked Punk to allow Alberto Del Rio to become champion. This led to Punk accusing Triple H of conspiring against him. Although Triple H originally acquiesced to Punk's wish to meet Nash in a match at Night of Champions, the Board of Directors quickly put Triple H in the match against Punk. In reality, Nash cannot compete that night due to medical reasons.

Backstage roles

In 2010, Levesque's role as an executive senior advisor was officially formalized as he was given an office at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. As a senior advisor, Levesque was placed in charge of a new talent development department in 2011, focusing on worldwide recruitment, training and character development of future WWE employees.

Personal life

In 2000, Levesque began dating Stephanie McMahon and they married on October 25, 2003. He had previously been in a long-term relationship with former WWE wrestler Chyna. He and McMahon have three daughters. On January 8, 2006, WWE announced that McMahon and Levesque were expecting their first child, due on July 27, 2006. Stephanie McMahon continued to work and travel with WWE throughout her pregnancy, giving birth to an 8 lb, 7 oz (3.8 kg) baby girl, Aurora Rose Levesque, on July 24, 2006. The couple had their second daughter on July 28, 2008, a daughter named Murphy Claire Levesque. The couple welcomed their third daughter, Vaughn Evelyn Levesque, on August 24, 2010.

He has a sister named Lynn.

In late 2004, Levesque released a book titled ''Making the Game: Triple H's Approach to a Better Body.'' Mostly devoted to bodybuilding advice, the book also includes some autobiographical information, memoirs, and opinions.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

Inverted Indian deathlock – WCW; used rarely as a regular move thereafter in WWE

''Pedigree'' (Double underhook facebuster)

Signature moves

Abdominal stretch

Blatant choke

Chop block

Facebreaker knee smash, often as a back body drop counter

Figure four leglock

Flowing DDT

High knee

Jumping knee drop

Mounted punches

Running clothesline

Running neckbreaker

Sleeper hold

Spinning spinebuster

Signature foreign object

*Sledgehammer

Managers

*Chyna

*Ric Flair

*Mr. Hughes

*Mr. Perfect

*Stephanie McMahon–Helmsley

*Vince McMahon

*Shawn Michaels

*Lord Steven Regal

*Sable

Nicknames

The Connecticut Blueblood

The Cerebral Assassin

The Game

The King of Kings

Entrance themes

*World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

**"Blue Blood" by Jim Johnston (April 28, 1995 – December 15, 1996)

**"Symphony No. 9 (Fourth movement)" by Ludwig van Beethoven (December 15, 1996 – November 10, 1997)

**"Break It Down" by The DX Band (November 17, 1997 – March 29, 1999)

**"Corporate Player" by Jim Johnston (1999)

**"Higher Brain Pattern" by Jim Johnston (1999)

**"My Time" by The DX Band (June 27, 1999 – December 10, 2000)

**"The Game" by Motörhead (January 8, 2001–present)

**"The Game" by Drowning Pool (used for advertising promos; March 2002 – March 2011)

**"King of Kings" by Motörhead (used for promos and as prelude to "The Game"; April 2, 2006–Present)

**"For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Metallica (WrestleMania XXVII prelude)

Championships and accomplishments

Independent Wrestling Federation

IWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Feud of the Year (2000) vs. Kurt Angle

PWI Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Chris Benoit

*PWI Feud of the Year (2009) vs. Randy Orton

PWI Match of the Year (2004) vs. Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit at WrestleMania XX

PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2003–2005)

*PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Decade (2000–2009)

*PWI Wrestler of the Year (2008)

*PWI Wrestler of the Decade (2000–2009)

PWI ranked him #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2000 and 2009

PWI ranked him #139 in the PWI Years in 2003

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

WWF/E Championship (8 times)

World Heavyweight Championship (5 times)

WWF European Championship (2 times)

WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (5 times)

WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Steve Austin (1) and Shawn Michaels (1)

WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Shawn Michaels (1)

King of the Ring (1997)

Royal Rumble (2002)

*Second Grand Slam Championship

*Seventh Triple Crown Champion

*Slammy Award for Best Hair (1997)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Feud of the Year (2000)

Feud of the Year (2004)

Feud of the Year (2005)

*Most Overrated (2002–2004, 2009)

*Readers' Least Favorite Wrestler (2002, 2003)

Worst Feud of the Year (2002)

Worst Feud of the Year (2006)

Worst Worked Match of the Year (2003)

Worst Worked Match of the Year (2008)

*Wrestler of the Year (2000)

*Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)

Triple H's fifth reign was as Undisputed WWF Champion.}}

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1998		Triple H
	''The Drew Carey Show''	Triple H
''MADtv''	Himself
2004	''Blade: Trinity''	Jarko Grimwood
2005	''The Bernie Mac Show''	Triple H
2006	''Relative Strangers''	Wrestler	Uncredited
		Raymond "Ray Ray" Bradstone
	Arlo "A.J." Jayne

Notes

References

External links

WWE.com Profile

Online World of Wrestling profile

Category:1969 births Category:Actors from New Hampshire Category:American film actors Category:American people of French-Canadian descent Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:People from Greenwich, Connecticut Category:People from Nashua, New Hampshire Category:Professional wrestling executives

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Coordinates	6°7′55″N1°13′22″N
name	Kanye West
background	solo_singer
birth name	Kanye Omari West
birth date	June 08, 1977
birth place	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
genre	Hip hop
instrument	Vocals, keyboards, sampler, percussion, synthesizer
occupation	Producer, rapper, musician, singer, songwriter
years active	1996–present
label	GOOD Music, Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
associated acts	Go Getters, Child Rebel Soldier, Jay-Z, The Throne, Common, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, Jeff Bhasker, Pusha T, Mos Def, Mr Hudson, Talib Kweli, Big Sean, A-Trak, Pharrell, Lupe Fiasco, RZA
website	}}

Kanye Omari West (; born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album ''The Blueprint'', as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B;, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synthpop, and classical music.

West released his debut album ''The College Dropout'' in 2004, his second album ''Late Registration'' in 2005, his third album ''Graduation'' in 2007, his fourth album ''808s & Heartbreak'' in 2008, and his fifth album ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' in 2010. West released a collaborative album, ''Watch the Throne'', with Jay-Z on August 8, 2011, which is the duo's first collaborative album. His five solo albums, all of which have gone platinum, have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. As of 2012, West has won a total of eighteen Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all time. All albums have been very commercially successful, with ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' becoming his fourth consecutive No.1 album in the U.S. upon release. West has had 5 songs exceed 3 million in digital sales as of July 2011, with "Gold Digger" selling 3,086,000, "Stronger" selling 4,402,000, "Heartless" selling 3,742,000, "E.T." selling over 4,000,000 and "Love Lockdown" selling over 3,000,000 placing him third in overall digital sales of the past decade. He has sold over 30 million digital songs in the United States making him one of the best selling digital artists of all time.

West also runs his own record label GOOD Music, home to artists such as John Legend, Common and Kid Cudi. West's mascot and trademark is "Dropout Bear," a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of three of his five albums as well as various single covers and music videos. About.com ranked Kanye West No.8 on their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list. On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year's No.1 "Hottest MC in the Game." On December 17, 2010, Kanye West was voted as the MTV Man of the Year by MTV. Billboard ranked Kanye West No. 3 on their list of Top 10 Producers of the decade. West has also been included in the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as being listed in a number of ''Forbes''' annual lists.

Early life

Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lived with his parents. When he was three years old, his parents divorced, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father was Ray West, a former Black Panther who was one of the first black photojournalists at ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,'' and is now a Christian counselor. West's mother, Dr. Donda West, was a Professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as West's manager. He was raised in a middle-class background, attending Polaris High School in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago. When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, "I got A's and B's. And I'm not even frontin'".

West attended art classes at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and also enrolled at Chicago State University, but dropped out to focus on his music career. While attending school, West produced for local artists. He later gained fame by producing hit singles for major hip hop/R&B; artists, including Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Cam'ron, Paul Wall, Common, Mobb Deep, Jermaine Dupri, Scarface, The Game, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, John Legend among others. He also "ghost-produced" for his mentor Deric Angelettie, according to his song "Last Call" and the credits of Nas' "Poppa Was a Playa".

Music career

1996–2003: Career beginnings

Kanye West's first career productions came on Chicago rapper Grav's 1996 debut album ''Down to Earth''. West produced eight tracks on the album. While the album did not attract much attention and would be the only album released by Grav, West would soon be producing for higher profile artists. In 1998–1999 he produced for well-known artists such as Jermaine Dupri, Foxy Brown, Goodie Mob, and the group Harlem World.

West got his big break in the year 2000, when he began to produce for artists on Roc-a-Fella Records. He produced the well-received Jay-Z song "This Can't Be Life" off of the album ''The Dynasty: Roc La Familia''. West would later state that to create the beat for "This Can't Be Life", he sped up the drum beat from Dr. Dre's song "Xxplosive".

After producing for Jay-Z earlier, West’s sound was featured heavily on Jay-Z's critically acclaimed album ''The Blueprint,'' released September 11, 2001. His work was featured on the lead single "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" and a diss track against Nas and Mobb Deep named "Takeover"; West has worked with Mobb Deep and Nas since the track's release.

After meeting great commercial success and critical acclaim for his productions on ''The Blueprint'', West became a sought after producer in the hip-hop industry, even before he became known as a rapper and solo artist. In the years 2002–2003 he would produce for artists such as Nas, Scarface, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, T.I., Ludacris, DMX, and Monica. He also continued producing for Roc-a-Fella Records artists and contribued four tracks to Jay-Z's follow up album to ''The Blueprint'', ''The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse''.

After great successes as a producer, West now looked to pursue a career as a rapper and solo artist, but struggled to get a record deal. Chris Anokute, then A&R; at Def Jam, said that when West regularly dropped by the office to pick up his producer checks he would play demos of solo material to Anokute in his cubicle and bemoan the fact that no one was taking him seriously as a rapper. Jay-Z admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that he saw him as a producer first and foremost. Multiple record companies felt he was not as marketable as rappers who portray the "street image" prominent in hip hop culture. Beginning his career as a rapper, Kanye West recorded the third verse on the song "The Bounce" off of Jay-Z's ''The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse'', an album he produced for, from the same label he was signed to as a rapper.

2004–05: ''The College Dropout'' and ''Late Registration''

On October 23, 2002, West was involved in a near fatal car crash while driving home from the recording studio. The crash provided inspiration for West's first single, "Through the Wire". West's faith is apparent in many of his songs, such as "Jesus Walks", which became a staple at his benefit performances, such as the Live 8 concert. These songs were featured on West's debut album, ''The College Dropout'', which was released on Roc-A-Fella Records in February 2004, and went on to receive critical acclaim. The album also defined the style for which West would become known, including wordplay and sampling. The album was eventually certified triple platinum. Guest appearances included Jay-Z, Ludacris, GLC, Consequence, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Common, and Syleena Johnson. The album also featured the singles, "All Falls Down" and "The New Workout Plan", as well as Twista's number one single, "Slow Jamz". During 2003 West also co-produced songs for British singer Javine Hylton, even appearing in the music video to Real Things playing the love interest of Javine.

West was involved in a financial dispute over Royce Da 5'9"'s song "Heartbeat", produced by West and released on ''Build & Destroy: The Lost Sessions''. West maintains that Royce never paid for the beat, but recorded to it and released it; hearing him on the beat, the original customers decided not to buy it from West. After the disagreement, West vowed to never work with Royce again. Other Kanye West-produced hit singles during the period ''The College Dropout'' was released included "I Changed My Mind" by Keyshia Cole, "Overnight Celebrity" by Twista and "Talk About Our Love" by Brandy.

Taking a more eclectic route, West collaborated with American film score composer Jon Brion to construct his second album, ''Late Registration'', which was released on August 30, 2005. Like its predecessor, the sophomore effort garnered universal acclaim from music critics. ''Late Registration'' topped countless critic polls and was revered as the best album of the year by numerous publications, including ''USA Today'', ''Spin'', and ''Time''. ''Rolling Stone'' awarded the album the highest position on their end of the year record list and hailed it as a "sweepingly generous, absurdly virtuosic hip-hop classic." The record earned the number one spot on the ''Village Voice'''s Pazz & Jop critics' poll of 2005 for the second consecutive year. ''Late Registration'' was also a commercial success, selling over 860,000 copies in its first week alone and topping the ''Billboard 200''. Grossing over 2.3 million units sold in the United States alone by year's end, ''Late Registration'' was considered by industry observers as the sole majorly successful album release of the fall of 2005, a season that was plagued by steadily declining CD sales. The second album earned eight Grammy Award nominations including ''Album of the Year'' and ''Record of the Year'' for the song "Gold Digger". The album is certified triple platinum.

On August 22, 2005, the MTV special ''All Eyes On Kanye West'' aired, in which West spoke out against homophobia in hip-hop. He claimed that hip-hop has always been about "speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people." He then reflected on a personal experience. He said that he had a "turning point" when he realized one of his cousins was gay. He said regarding this experience: "This is my cousin. I love him and I've been discriminating against gays." He drew comparison between African Americans' struggle for civil rights and today's gay rights movement. The following year, in an interview with ''Entertainment Weekly'', West further expounded his experiences with and views on the relationship between the black and gay communities.

In September 2005, West announced that he would release his Pastelle Clothing line in spring 2006: "Now that I have a Grammy under my belt and ''Late Registration'' is finished, I am ready to launch my clothing line next spring." In that year, West produced the hit singles "Go" by Common and "Dreams" by The Game.

2007–09: ''Graduation'' and ''808s & Heartbreak''

In 2007, it was announced that West would be starring in a series directed by Larry Charles. He has been working on the pilot episode for the past two years with Larry Charles and Rick Rubin. He also had this to say on January 14: "I wouldn't do something as cliché as a reality show. At least give me the credit for being more creative than that. It's a situational half-hour comedy. It's fictional, and loosely based on my life. " West also collaborated with Japanese hip-hop group Teriyaki Boyz to produce the single "I Still Love H.E.R.," a reference to Common's 1994 single "I Used to Love H.E.R.". Further to this, during a radio appearance in early 2007, West, like many of his peers, recorded an impromptu freestyle to the popular song "Throw Some D's." The song that to all other rappers was about automobile rims, was used by West to comically refer to D-cup breasts. Because of the unexpected success of the song, West went on to make a video for the freestyle, in which he is seen playing his 'Old Ass Cousin'.

West was also featured in a new song called "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)". It was believed to be a single for, ''Graduation'', because he is featured on the track, but Nike quickly explained that it was for the Nike Air Force 1's anniversary. It was meant only to be an exclusive track for the company.

On March 25, 2007, he and his father Ray West supported World Water Day by having a "Walk for Water" rally. After a two-year break, West has returned to being a fashion columnist in lifestyle magazine ''Complex''. On July 7, 2007, West performed with The Police and John Mayer at the American leg of Live Earth. West hosted the August 17 edition of British comedy- variety show The Friday Night Project.

In July 2007, West changed the release date of ''Graduation'', his third album, from September 18, 2007, to the same release date as 50 Cent's album ''Curtis'', September 11, 2007. 50 Cent later claimed that if ''Graduation'' were to sell more records than ''Curtis,'' he would stop releasing solo albums. However, 50 Cent would later dispel his comments. The album has been certified double platinum. Guest appearances included T-Pain, Mos Def, and Lil Wayne.

}}

On August 26, 2007, West appeared as himself on the HBO television show ''Entourage'' which he used as a platform to premier his new single "Good Life" during the end credits. On September 9, 2007, West performed at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, losing in every category he was nominated for; he gave an angry speech immediately afterward. (see "Controversies" section)

Following the MTV stint, West was nominated in eight Grammy Award categories for the 50th annual Grammy Awards. He won four of them, including Best Rap Album for ''Graduation'' and Best Rap Solo Performance for "Stronger" from ''Graduation''. During the four-hour televised Grammy Awards ceremony, West also performed two songs: "Stronger" (with Daft Punk) and "Hey Mama" (in honor of his recently deceased mother).

West kicked off the Glow in the Dark Tour in Seattle at the Key Arena on April 16. The tour was originally scheduled to end in June in Cincinnati but was extended into August. Over the course of the tour West was joined by a varying group of opening acts, including Lupe Fiasco, Rihanna, N.E.R.D., DJ Craze, and Gnarls Barkley. On June 15, West was scheduled to perform a late night set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. His performance started almost two hours late and ran for half of its alloted time, angering many fans in the audience. West later wrote an outraged entry on his blog, blaming the festival organizers as well as Pearl Jam's preceding set, which ran longer than expected.

On September 7, West debuted a new song "Love Lockdown" at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. "Love Lockdown" features no rapping and only singing using an auto-tune device. This song appears on West's fourth studio album, ''808s & Heartbreak''. The new album was expected to be released on December 16, but West announced on his blog on September 24, 2008, that he had finished the album and would be releasing it sometime in November, earlier than previously scheduled. In early October, West made a surprise appearance at a T.I. concert in Los Angeles, where he stated that ''808s & Heartbreak'' was scheduled to be released on November 25, though it was actually released on the 24th, and that the second single is "Heartless". The album was another number one album for West, even though the first week numbers fell well short of ''Graduation'' with 450,145 sold.

West performed at the American Music Awards ceremony on November 23. That same night he won two AMA awards, including Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album for ''Graduation'' and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Male Artist. West performed at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August 2008, along with Wyclef Jean and N.E.R.D. in support of Barack Obama. On January 20, 2009, Kanye West performed at the Youth Inaugural Ball hosted by MTV for Obama's inauguration.

On February 17, 2009, West was named one of Top 10 Most Stylish Men in America by ''GQ''. The next day, February 18, 2009, West won International Male Solo Artist at The Brit Awards 2009. West was not in attendance but accepted his award with a video speech, saying "Barack is the 'Best Interracial Male' but I'm proud to be the Best International Male in the world.

In April 2009, Kanye West recorded a song called "Hurricane" with 30 Seconds to Mars to appear on their album ''This Is War'', but was not released due to legal issues with both record companies. The song was eventually released on the deluxe version of ''This Is War'', titled "Hurricane 2.0".

2010–present: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' and ''Watch the Throne''

In May 2010, West made an animated television guest appearance on Fox's animated television series ''The Cleveland Show'' (a spin-off of ''Family Guy'') as the voice behind "Kenny West", a rival of Cleveland Brown's son. In his first episode he performed in a rap battle with Cleveland's son. The producers stated working with West was a very good experience and a reason they chose him was because they knew he was a fan of ''Family Guy''. Kenny West re-appeared in the season 2 premiere of ''The Cleveland Show''.

West spent the first half of 2010 in Honolulu, Hawaii, working on his new album with the working title ''"Good Ass Job"'', later named ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'', released on November 22, 2010. West has cited Maya Angelou, Gil Scott-Heron and Nina Simone as his musical inspirations for this album. Outside production is said to come from RZA, Q-Tip, Pete Rock, and DJ Premier. West also had Justin Vernon flown into his studio on Oahu after seemingly expressing interest in sampling one of Bon Iver's songs; Vernon proceeded to feature on a number of new tracks, including "Lost In The World," which features Vernon's vocal line from Woods.

On May 28, the Dwele-assisted first single from the album, entitled "Power", leaked to the Internet. On June 30, the track was officially released via iTunes. The upcoming music video was quoted as being "apocalyptic, in a very personal way" by the director Marco Brambilla.

On September 12, 2010, West performed a new song, "Runaway" featuring Pusha T, at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Shortly after the performance, Kanye revealed he was working on a 35 minute short film based around the song. The movie is said to be influenced by film noir and concerns a fallen phoenix whom Kanye falls in love with. On October 15, 2010, Kanye West was ranked 3rd in BET's "Top Ten Rappers of the 21st Century" list.

''Watch the Throne'', a collaborative studio album by West and Jay-Z, was released by Def Jam Recordings on August 8, 2011. It has been under production since August 2010 as part of West's GOOD Friday initiative of releasing new songs every Friday between August 20 and Christmas 2010. West said through a recent interview with MTV that the album is "going to be very dark and sexy, like couture hip hop." He appeared at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, performing the track "Lost in the World" from ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''. On January 6, 2011, Kanye announced via Twitter that the first official single from ''Watch the Throne'' would be a song called "H•A•M" produced by Lex Luger. The song was released on January 11, 2011.

On April 17, 2011, West closed the Coachella Festival with a headlining set that received glowing praise from fans and critics alike. On July 20, a track titled "Otis" from the album was released in the iTunes Store. It samples "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding. On October 19, 2011, West announced on his Twitter plans for a Spring 2012 GOOD Music album release. On April 6, 2012, "Mercy", the lead single from the ''GOOD Music'' compilation album was released. The song, produced by newly-signed in-house producer Lifted, features West along with Big Sean, Pusha T and southern rapper 2 Chainz.

Other ventures

Business ventures

In August 2008, West revealed plans to open 10 Fatburger restaurants in the Chicago area; the first was set to open in September 2008 in Orland Park. The second followed in January 2009, while a third location is yet to be revealed, although the process is being finalized. His company, KW Foods LLC, bought the rights to the chain in Chicago. Additionally, West planned to launch his fashion career, and applied for internships with major European fashion houses. He was due to release his own clothing line called Past Tell in 2009. He also collaborated with Nike to release his own shoe, Air Yeezys.

On January 22, 2009, during Paris Fashion Week, West introduced his first shoe line designed for Louis Vuitton. The line was released in summer 2009.

On October 01, 2011, Kanye West premiered his women's fashion label, DW Kanye West at Paris Fashion Week. He received support from DSquared2 duo Dean and Dan Caten, Olivier Theyskens, Jeremy Scott, Azzedine Alaïa, and the Olsen twins, who were also in attendance during his show. His debut fashion show received mixed-to-negative reviews, ranging from reserved observations by Style.com to excoriating commentary by The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, Elleuk.com, The Daily Telegraph, Harper's Bazaar and many others.

Philanthropy

West started the "Kanye West Foundation" in Chicago in 2003. On August 24, 2007, West hosted the inaugural benefit concert to launch the foundation's partnership with Strong American Schools. It is focused on helping Latino and African American children stay in school and to get a proper education through grade school, high school, and college. The foundation also helps children to stay in high school by finding a path through music. West has contributed over $500,000 to his foundation. The foundation has also been called the "Donda West Foundation".

Kanye West has appeared and participated in many fundraisers, benefit concerts, and has done community work for Hurricane Katrina relief, the Kanye West Foundation, the Millions More Movement, 100 Black Men of America, a Live Earth concert benefit, World Water Day rally and march, Nike runs, and a MTV special helping young Iraq War veterans who struggle through debt and PTSD a second chance after returning home.

Musical style and influences

At the start of his career, Kanye West's production style often used pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments. His first major release featuring his trademark vocal sampling style was "This Can't Be Life", a track from Jay-Z’s ''The Dynasty: Roc La Familia''. West said he sped up the drum beat of Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive" to use as a replacement for his drums on "This Can't Be Life".

West has said that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style, and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites, "Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time... We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the [production] style I use, RZA has been doing that." RZA himself has spoken quite positively of the comparisons, stating in an interview for ''Rolling Stone'', "All good. I got super respect for Kanye. He came up to me about a year or two ago. He gave me mad praising and blessings... For people to say Wu-Tang inspire Kanye, Kanye is one of the biggest artists in the world. That goes back to what we say: 'Wu-Tang is forever.' Kanye is going to inspire people to be like him." After hearing his work on ''The Blueprint'', RZA claimed that a torch-passing had occurred between him and West, saying, "The shoes gotta be filled. If you ain't gonna do it, somebody else is gonna do it. That's how I feel about rap today."

While his use of sampling has lessened over time, West's production continues to feature distinctive and intricate string arrangements. This characteristic arose from him listening to the English trip hop group Portishead, whose 1998 live album ''Roseland NYC Live'', with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra inspired him to incorporate string sections into his hip hop production. Though he was unable to afford live instruments beyond violin riffs provided by Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari around the time of his debut album, its subsequent commercial success allowed him to hire his very own eleven-piece string orchestra. For a time, West stood as the sole current pop star to tour with a string section.

West has stated on several occasions that outside of work, he favors listening to rock music over hip-hop. He cites Franz Ferdinand, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Killers as some of his favorite musical groups. Additionally, on ''Graduation'', West drew inspiration from arena rock bands such as U2, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin for melody and chord progression. Both a fan and supporter of indie culture, West uses his official website to promote obscure indie rock bands, posting up music videos and mp3s on a daily basis. This musical affinity is mutual, as West has collaborated with indie artists such as Santigold, Peter Bjorn and John, and Lykke Li while his songs have gone on to be covered countless times by myriad rock bands.

Personal life

Relationships

Kanye West and designer Alexis Phifer ended their 18-month engagement in 2008. The couple had been dating on and off since 2002, with West eventually proposing in August 2006. According to a friend, the couple's relationship had become increasingly strained, burdened by the sheer amount of time and attention West was dedicating to his current concert tour. "It's always sad when things like this end, and we remain friends," Phifer told ''People''.

West was also in a high profile on/off relationship with Amber Rose from 2008 until the summer of 2010. He is now reportedly dating reality star Kim Kardashian.http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20584651,00.html

Mother's death

On November 10, 2007, West's mother, Donda West, died of complications from cosmetic surgery involving abdominoplasty and breast augmentation. TMZ reported that Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Andre Aboolian refused to do the surgery because Donda West had a health condition that placed her at risk for a heart attack. Aboolian referred her to an internist to investigate her cardiac issue. Donda never met with the doctor recommended by Aboolian and had the procedures performed by a third doctor, Jan Adams. She was 58 years old (1949–2007).

Adams sent condolences to Donda West's family but declined to publicly discuss the procedure because of confidentiality. He had previously been under scrutiny by the medical board. Adams appeared on ''Larry King Live'' on November 20, 2007 but left before speaking. Two days later, he appeared again, with his attorney, stating he was there to "defend himself." He said that the recently released autopsy results "spoke for themselves". The final coroner's report January 10, 2008 concluded that Donda West died of "coronary artery disease and multiple post-operative factors due to or as a consequence of liposuction and mammoplasty."

The funeral and burial for Donda West was held in Oklahoma City on November 20, 2007. West held his first concert following the funeral at The O2 in London on November 22. He dedicated a performance of "Hey Mama", as well as a cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", to his mother, and did so on all other dates of his Glow in the Dark tour.

At a December 2008 press conference in New Zealand, West spoke about his mother's death for the first time. "It was like losing an arm and a leg and trying to walk through that," he told reporters.

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger passed the "Donda West Law," a legislation which makes it mandatory for patients to provide medical clearance for elective cosmetic surgery.

Legal issues

In December 2006, Robert "Evel" Knievel sued West for trademark infringement in West's video for "Touch the Sky." Knievel took issue with a "sexually-charged video" in which West takes on the persona of "Evel Kanyevel" and attempts flying a rocket over a canyon. The suit filed in federal court claims infringement on his trademarked name and likeness. Knievel also claims the "vulgar and offensive" images depicted in the video damage his reputation. The suit seeks damages and to stop distribution of the video. West's attorneys argued that the music video amounted to satire and therefore was covered under the First Amendment. Just days before his death in November 2007, Knievel amicably settled the suit after being paid a visit from West, saying, "I thought he was a wonderful guy and quite a gentleman."

On September 11, 2008, West and his road manager/bodyguard Don "Don C." Crowley were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport and booked on charges of felony vandalism after an altercation with the paparazzi in which West and Crowley broke the photographers' cameras. West was later released from the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Division station in Culver City on $20,000 bail bond. On September 26, 2008 the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said it would not file felony counts against West over the incident. Instead the case file was forwarded to the city attorney's office, which charged West with one count of misdemeanor vandalism, one count of grand theft and one count of battery and his manager with three counts of each on March 18, 2009. West's and Crowley's arraignment was delayed from an original date of April 14, 2009.

West was arrested again on November 14, 2008 at the Hilton hotel near Gateshead after another scuffle involving a photographer outside the famous Tup Tup Palace nightclub in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He was later released "with no further action", according to a police spokesperson.

Controversies

General media

West has had several controversies throughout his career. On September 2, 2005, during a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief on NBC, A Concert for Hurricane Relief, West was a featured speaker. When West was presenting alongside actor Mike Myers, he deviated from the prepared script. Myers spoke next and continued to read the script. Once it was West's turn to speak again, he said "George Bush doesn't care about black people." At this point, telethon producer Rick Kaplan cut off the microphone and then cut away to Chris Tucker, who was unaware of the cut for a few seconds. Still, West's comment reached much of the United States. Bush stated in an interview that the comment was "one of the most disgusting moments” of his presidency.

In January 2006, West again sparked controversy when he appeared on the cover of ''Rolling Stone'' in the image of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns.

In November, 2010, in a taped interview with Matt Lauer for the Today Show, West expressed regret for his criticism of Bush. "I would tell George Bush in my moment of frustration, I didn't have the grounds to call him a racist," he told Lauer. "I believe that in a situation of high emotion like that we as human beings don't always choose the right words." The following day, Bush reacted to the apology in a live interview with Lauer saying he appreciated the rapper's remorse. "I'm not a hater," Bush said. "I don't hate Kanye West. I was talking about an environment in which people were willing to say things that hurt. Nobody wants to be called a racist if in your heart you believe in equality of races."

Reactions were mixed, but some felt that West had no need to apologize. "It was not the particulars of your words that mattered, it was the essence of a feeling of the insensitivity towards our communities that many of us have felt for far too long," noted Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons. Dr. Boyce Watkins said that West was, "now part of the establishment, where waffling on your principles is fully expected. Bush deserved no apology, for you don’t apologize to a criminal after repudiating him for an egregious crime. " Bush himself was acceptive towards the apology, saying, "I appreciate that. It wasn't just Kanye West who was talking like that during Katrina, I cited him as an example, I cited others as an example as well. You know, I appreciate that."

Award shows

In 2004, West had his first of a number of incidents involving music award events. At the American Music Awards of 2004, West stormed out of the auditorium after losing Best New Artist to country singer Gretchen Wilson. He later commented, "I felt like I was definitely robbed [...] I was the best new artist this year." After the 2006 Grammy nominations were released, West said he would "really have a problem" if he did not win the Album of the Year, saying, "I don't care what I do, I don't care how much I stunt – you can never take away from the amount of work I put into it. I don't want to hear all of that politically correct stuff." On November 2, 2006, when his "Touch the Sky" failed to win Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards, West went onto the stage as the award was being presented to Justice and Simian for "We Are Your Friends" and argued that he should have won the award instead. Hundreds of news outlets worldwide criticized the outburst. On November 7, 2006, West apologized for this outburst publicly during his performance as support act for U2 for their Vertigo concert in Brisbane. He later spoofed the incident in the season premiere of ''Saturday Night Live''.

On September 9, 2007, West suggested that his race had to do with his being overlooked for opening the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in favor of Britney Spears; he claimed, "Maybe my skin’s not right." West was performing at the event; that night, he lost all 5 awards that he was nominated for, including Best Male Artist and Video of the Year. After the show, he was visibly upset that he had lost at the VMAs two years in a row, stating that he would not come back to MTV ever again. He also appeared on several radio stations saying that when he made the song "Stronger" that it was his dream to open the VMAs with it. He has also stated that Spears has not had a hit in a long period of time and that MTV exploited her for ratings.

On September 13, 2009, during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards while Taylor Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me", West went on stage and grabbed the microphone to proclaim that Beyoncé's video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", nominated for the same award, was "one of the best videos of all time". He was subsequently removed from the remainder of the show for his actions. When Beyoncé later won the award for Best Video of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", she called Swift up on stage so that she could finish her acceptance speech. West was criticized by various celebrities for the outburst, and by President Barack Obama, who called West a "jackass". In addition, West's VMA disruption sparked a large influx of Internet photo memes with blogs, forums and "tweets" with the "Let you finish" photo-jokes. Subsequently, West posted two apologies for the outburst on his personal blog; one on the night of the incident and the other the same day he appeared on ''The Jay Leno Show'', on September 14, 2009, where he apologized again. After Swift appeared on ''The View'' two days after the outburst, partly to discuss the matter, West called her to apologize personally. Swift said she accepted his apology. In September 2010, West wrote a series of apologetic tweets addressed to Swift including "Beyonce didn't need that. MTV didn't need that and Taylor and her family friends and fans definitely didn't want or need that" and concluding with "I'm sorry Taylor." West also revealed he had written a song for Swift and if she did not accept the song, he would perform it himself. However, on November 8, 2010, in an interview with a Minnesota radio station, West seemed to recant a bit of his past apologies by attempting to describe the act at the 2009 awards show as "selfless" and downgrade the perception of disrespect it created.

Discography

Solo Albums

''The College Dropout'' (2004)

''Late Registration'' (2005)

''Graduation'' (2007)

''808s & Heartbreak'' (2008)

''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' (2010)

Collaborations

''G.O.O.D. Morning, G.O.O.D. Night'' (2009) - with Malik Yusef

''Watch the Throne'' (2011) – with Jay-Z

''GOOD Music'' (2012) – with GOOD Music artists

Filmography

''We Were Once a Fairytale'' (2009)

''Runaway'' (2010)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Kanye West at Beatbuggy

Category:1977 births Category:Midwest hip hop musicians Category:African American rappers Category:African American record producers Category:African American male singers Category:American bloggers Category:American Christians Category:American hip hop record producers Category:American music industry executives Category:American music video directors Category:American pop musicians Category:Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Brit Award winners Category:Chicago State University alumni Category:Electro-hop musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hip hop singers Category:Living people Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Rappers from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Rappers from Chicago, Illinois Category:Roc-A-Fella Records artists Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Songwriters from Illinois

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Coordinates	6°7′55″N1°13′22″N
name	Travis Barker
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Travis Landon Barker
alias	The Baron von Tito (when with the Aquabats)
birth date	November 14, 1975
origin	Fontana, California, United States
instrument	Drums, percussion, bass, synthesizers, guitar
genre	Pop punk, hip hop, rap metal, rap rock, alternative rock, post-hardcore
occupation	Drummer, musician, songwriter, producer
years active	1993–present
label	Interscope, LaSalle/Atlantic, Geffen, Hellcat, MCA, Golden Voice Records, Goliath Artists
associated acts	Blink-182, +44, Box Car Racer, Transplants, Paul Wall, TRV$DJAM, The Aquabats, Expensive Taste, Game, Royce da 5'9, Slash, RZA, Raekwon, Kanye West, Lil Twist, Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco, Lil Jon, Kid Cudi , Tinie Tempah, Yelawolf
website	TravisBarker.com
notable instruments	Orange County Drum and PercussionRemo DrumheadsZildjian }}

Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician, producer and entrepreneur, most noted as the drummer for the American pop punk band Blink-182, as well as the alternative rock band +44, the rap rock band The Transplants, and the alternative rock band Box Car Racer. He was a frequent collaborator with the late DJ AM, and together they formed TRV$DJAM.

After the split of his first band, Feeble, Barker began playing for The Aquabats in 1996 as The Baron Von Tito. He recorded one album with them, ''The Fury of The Aquabats!'', in 1997. His career took off when he joined up with pop punk band Blink-182 in 1998. Barker has since established himself as a versatile drummer, producing and making guest appearances in music projects of numerous music genres including hip hop, alternative rock, pop and country. He has gained significant acceptance within the hip-hop community in particular and often collaborates with artists to compose rock-tinged remixes to their songs.

He founded clothing company Famous Stars and Straps in 1999 and LaSalle Records in 2004. Companies such as DC Shoes and Zildjian cymbals have co-designed products in his name.

Barker collaborated with artists (including Game, Tom Morello, Slaughterhouse, Raekwon, RZA, Slash, and other musicians) for his solo debut album, ''Give the Drummer Some'', which was released on March 15, 2011.

Early life

Travis Barker was born to Randy and Gloria Barker in Fontana, California. Barker grew up in a high-crime area, where his father worked as a mechanic and his mother babysat for local kids. When Barker was four, his mother gave him his first drum kit, which was the only one he would have until he was fifteen. Barker began taking drum lessons at age five with jazz drummer Michael Mai, who would expose young Barker to many different playing styles. At this time, he also began taking trumpet lessons. In junior high, Barker learned to play the piano and briefly tried singing, joining the madrigals men and women's choir. In addition, Barker had non-musical aspirations; he also was interested in becoming a professional surfer and skateboarder. However, Barker states that "I always migrated back to drums, though. That was the one thing that kind of felt like I was connected to and I could kind of understand. I could express myself better through my drums than I could anything else."

His mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer three months earlier, died the day before he started high school. She told him to keep playing music and to follow his dreams. Barker attended Fontana High School, where he played in the jazz ensemble and marching band. He gained a lot of experience performing at regional competitions and festivals. During his senior year, he passed up drum corps tryouts to tour with a rock band. Barker gained a lot of experience performing with a few early rock bands. After Barker graduated from high school in 1993 he became a member of The Aquabats. He was nicknamed "Baron Von Tito." Barker did go back to drum corps for his age out year in 1996, to audition with the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, but was ultimately cut and did not march.

Recording career

Blink-182 (1998–2005; 2009–present)

Blink-182 was formed in 1992 by Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge. After recruiting drummer Scott Raynor, the band recorded three early demos and two studio albums: ''Cheshire Cat'' (1994) and ''Dude Ranch'' (1997). Hoppus and DeLonge fired Raynor midway through a U.S. tour in 1998 after a drinking problem became far too prevalent. Hoppus and DeLonge asked drummer Barker of Blink-182's support band The Aquabats to fill in for Raynor for the remainder of the tour, and, after being impressed with Barker, asked him to join the band. Blink-182 released their breakthrough album ''Enema of the State'' in June 1999 to commercial success, fueled by successful singles "What's My Age Again", "All the Small Things", and "Adam's Song". After releasing live album ''The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!)'' in November 2000, the band entered the studio and recorded their fourth studio album ''Take Off Your Pants and Jacket'', released in June 2001. The album continued the band's commercial success and popularity.

After performing with Box Car Racer for much of 2002, DeLonge and Barker rejoined the band to record their eponymous fifth studio album, released in November 2003. The album continued the commercial success that previous albums had endured, as well as being critically acclaimed: ''Blink-182'' represented a more "mature" band than seen in the past, with the band infusing experimentalist elements into their usual pop punk sound, inspired by lifestyle changes (the band members all became fathers before the album was released) and side-projects (Box Car Racer and Transplants).

Tensions arose between the band members as DeLonge expressed his desire to cancel the tour and enter a half-year respite from touring in late 2004, and the band officially announced an "indefinite hiatus" in February 2005. DeLonge formed Angels & Airwaves while Hoppus and Barker continued playing music together in +44. In August 2008, the band's frequent producer Jerry Finn died of a cerebral hemorrhage, and Barker barely survived a plane crash, sustaining second and third degree burns on his lower body and torso. Both events would be catalysts for the band reuniting; in 2010, DeLonge reflected, "If that accident hadn't happened, we wouldn't be a band. Plain and simple. That was fate."

The band announced their reunion in February 2009 at the 51st Grammy Awards ceremony. A well-received reunion tour took place in mid-2009, with a European leg performed in summer 2010. Currently, the band is recording their sixth studio album, entitled Neighborhoods, which is planned to be released in September 2011.

Collaborations/Remixes (2002–present)

Barker has said he has always been interested in many genres of music outside rock, especially hip hop. In a 2002 interview with MTV he said, "I probably listen to more hip-hop and drum'n'bass than I do rock music.". Not being able to explore these interests within Blink-182, Barker participated in two hip hop related side projects during that the time: Transplants and Expensive Taste.

Box Car Racer is a side project begun by Tom DeLonge of Blink-182 in 2002. This project resulted in one self-titled album, which was released that year. DeLonge said he asked Barker to play drums so that he would not have to find and pay a session drummer to come in.

Transplants is a hip hop-induced punk band for which Barker partnered with Tim Armstrong of Rancid and Rob Aston (former roadie for Rancid). Transplants released two studio records as well as a remixed version of their second album, which was chopped and screwed by rapper and hip-hop artist, Paul Wall. The first album released by Transplants was their self-titled album in 2002. The second Transplants record, ''Haunted Cities'', was released by LaSalle Records in June 2005. After the Vans Warped Tour of 2005, the members decided to disband. This was confirmed by vocalist Rob Aston in January 2006 during an interview. In January 2010, Barker announced that the Transplants would reform for new material.

He was best friends with the late DJ AM, Adam Goldstein. Some of his first forays into other genres was on Bad Boy 4 Life by P. Diddy and Back In The Mudd by Bubba Sparxxx (who also toured with blink). Barker has produced or worked on albums with The Black Eyed Peas, Pink and Pharrell. He appears on Bun B's album, ''Trill'' (2005) with Skinhead Rob for the bonus track, "Late Night Creepin'". In 2006 he was a producer on T.I.'s fourth album, ''King''. Also in 2006 he played drums for several songs on Avril Lavigne's third album, "The Best Damn Thing". He also dueted with Rihanna on a remix of her hit "Umbrella", he also appeared in her video. Barker also had a remix with Eminem, on the song 3 A.M.

In late 2005 Barker started a new band, +44, with fellow Blink-182 member Mark Hoppus. +44 only released one studio album, ''When Your Heart Stops Beating''. They played several tour dates with Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday, and Cobra Starship.

Barker made a very well received remix of Soulja Boy's "Crank That". In a similar fashion to the Soulja Boy remix, he has also remixed Flo Rida's single "Low" that was later included within the deluxe version of Flo Rida's debut album. Barker is a playable character in ''Guitar Hero: World Tour'' and his remix of "Low" is available as downloadable content. Barker is also featured on The Game's latest album, ''L.A.X.'', drumming on the song "Dope Boys".

He was the drummer for all of the performers at the MTV Video Music Awards of 2008, including Kid Cudi and LL Cool J.

In November 2009, Barker made a remix with hip-hop artist Drake's song "Forever", featuring Eminem, Lil Wayne and Kanye West.

On April 22, 2010, Barker performed "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin on ''American Idol'' along with Mary J. Blige, Orianthi, Steve Vai and Randy Jackson.

On March 1, 2011, Ourstage, Guitar Center and Travis Barker team up to create the unsigned artist discovery program Guitar Center Presents Your Next Record With Travis Barker. The winner gets a 3-song ep produced by Travis Barker at Red Bull Studios in Los Angeles, Travis Barker appears on the winning artists single, $10,000 in new gear from Guitar Center and Worldwide distribution of the winners music through TuneCore.

Business ventures

Barker owns and contributes to several businesses in addition to his musical interests. He founded an accessory/apparel company called Famous Stars and Straps in 1999, which sells street/skate style clothing and gear. Barker has said the brand's trademark "F" for the logo was chosen for its resemblance to a car logo but mainly for the fact that it can stand on its own. Barker is also business partners with famous skateboarder Rob Dyrdek and together they are part of the team that own the clothing label named Rogue Status, and in 2009 another label called DTA.

He co-founded LaSalle Records, a record company to which his band, Transplants, are signed. He has dabbled in the restaurant industry, opening a Wahoo's Fish Taco restaurant in Norco, California.

Barker has developed a shoe for DC Shoe Company called the "Alias Remix" and is endorsed by Orange County Drum and Percussion and Zildjian. He also has his own line of drumming products, sponsored by Zildjian.

Personal life

Relationships

Barker has been married twice. He first married his long time girlfriend, Melissa Kennedy, on September 22, 2001. The couple divorced August 6, 2002, after eleven months of marriage.

Barker married actress and First Runner Up Miss USA 1995 Shanna Moakler on October 30, 2004. The couple had a Gothic-style ceremony inspired by the Tim Burton film, ''The Nightmare Before Christmas,'' which was held on the eve of Halloween. Barker and Moakler have two children together, Landon Asher (born October 9, 2003) and Alabama Luella (born December 24, 2005). Atiana Cecilia de la Hoya (born March 29, 1999) is Moakler's daughter with former boyfriend Oscar de la Hoya. The family appeared in a reality television series, ''Meet the Barkers'', which aired on MTV from 2005 to 2006.

On August 8, 2006, Barker filed for divorce from Moakler after nearly two years of marriage. The couple's divorce was made public as each used their MySpace pages to air their feelings on the matter. During their separation, Barker had a brief fling with Paris Hilton in September 2006.

Despite their pending divorce, reports surfaced in early 2007 that Barker and Moakler were "quietly trying to give it another go" as they were reportedly seen autographing a fan's book, with a heart around their names.

In March 2007, Moakler revealed to ''People'' magazine that she and Barker (still married) were back together, but denied that she was pregnant. This admission came after the couple were publicly affectionate at a surprise birthday Barker threw for his wife in Miami. People.com later reported that the couple had separated again. No reason was given for the split. Barker and Moakler were seen together at the 2007 Video Music Awards kissing and holding hands. However, as of February 11, 2008, the couple's divorce had been finalized.

Barker and Moakler were together during a DJ set Barker was playing with DJ AM in Las Vegas on January 7, 2009. The couple attempted to rekindle their relationship in early 2009 but announced that they were no longer together on April 1, 2009, amid reports that police had been called to their home after a fight; no charges were filed against either party.

Plane crash

On September 19, 2008, Barker was injured when the Learjet 60, which he boarded, crashed outside Columbia, South Carolina. The jet was headed for Van Nuys, California. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane was departing the airport when air traffic controllers saw sparks emanating from the plane. It went off the runway, smashed through a fence, crossed a nearby road, slammed into an embankment and caught fire. Barker had performed the night before at an event with Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell, Gavin DeGraw and DJ AM. Barker and DJ AM were transported to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia, where they were both listed in critical condition. Four others were killed in the crash, three males and one female. With autopsies being performed to identify the bodies, two of the deceased were crew members, and two were passengers, including Chris Baker, Barker's personal assistant who often appeared in ''Meet The Barkers'', and Charles Still, Barker's security guard. On September 21, Dr. Fred Mullins, medical director of the Burn Center reported that Barker sustained second and third degree burns on his lower body and torso and was expected to fully recover within a year. Barker stopped his vegetarian diet and began eating meat to increase his protein intake and possibly speed up healing of his burns.

Barker survived the incident, enabling him to return to the recording studio in November 2008 with long time friend and Keys to the Cadillac drummer Mike Barbalaci. On his first television interview since the crash, he said to MTV, "I'm already playing my drums again, and I'm already back in the studio". Elaborating by stating that the return to the studio "was like riding a bike. It was really exciting to know I still have my chops. It still felt good... I still can make it around the kit. Everything felt right, so I'm thankful to be able to play."

Barker sued the plane's owners, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., and an airplane maintenance company on November 21, 2008. He sought more than $25,000 in damages "for pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of earnings, and medical and legal expenses", claiming that the companies had "improperly operated and maintained the Learjet". The lawsuit claims the Learjet's pilots were "improperly trained and should have tried to take off rather than continue down the runway." The mother of Barker's bodyguard, Charles Monroe Still Jr., who was killed in the crash, joined the lawsuit. She sued the companies for "damages including grief and sorrow, funeral expenses and loss of earnings." The court case was settled in December 2009, with lawyer William L. Robinson, who represented some of the companies, saying the terms of the settlement are confidential.

On December 1, 2008, ''TV Guide'' reported that Barker would make his first appearance with DJ AM (Adam Goldstein) since the two survived the plane crash. The duo performed at New Year's Nation's Los Angeles New Year's Eve Party at The Wiltern. Their performance was streamed live on the Internet via New Year's Nation's official site, and broadcast at other New Year's Nation parties across the U.S. Of the gig, Barker told press, "I'm ready to get back onstage with AM and continue to rock the house. I'm very excited to bring in the New Year in my hometown of L.A." DJ AM died on August 28, 2009, of an accidental drug overdose in his New York City apartment.

Equipment

Zildjian (Cymbals) A Series 21" Sweet Ride, 18" A Custom Crash, 14" Master Sound Hi-Hats, 21" K Crash Ride, 18" Oriental China Trash, 10" A Custom Splash,

Orange County Drums and Percussion or OCDP (Drums) 22" x 20" kick drum, 12" x 9" mounted tom, 16" x 14" floor tom, 14" x 7" snare drum, 10" x 6" side snare,

Remo Emperor x (snare) Remo Smooth White Emperor (Batter toms) Remo Smooth White Ambassador(toms reso) Remo Hazy Ambassador (snare side) Smooth White Remo Powerstroke 3 (bass batter) Smooth white Remo powerstroke 3 (Bass reso) Travis Barker Signature Drumsticks. Roland electronic drums/triggers.

Barker is currently sponsored by Orange County Drum and Percussion and Zildjian.

Discography

Album appearances

; Solo albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
! style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	!style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! style="width:3em;font-size:75%"
		* Released: March 15, 2011	Interscope Records>Interscope (B0015394)	* Format: Compact Disc

; With [[Blink-182

''Enema of the State'' (1999)

''The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!)'' (2000)

''Take Off Your Pants and Jacket'' (2001)

''Blink-182'' (2003)

''Greatest Hits'' (2005)

''Neighborhoods'' (2011)

; With Transplants

''Transplants'' (2002)

''Haunted Cities'' (2005)

; With +44

''When Your Heart Stops Beating'' (2006)

; With TRV$DJAM

''Fix Your Face'' (mixtape) (2008)

''Fix Your Face, Vol 2: Coachella'' (mixtape) (2009)

; With The Aquabats

''The Fury of the Aquabats!'' (1997)

; With Box Car Racer

''Box Car Racer'' (2002)

; With Expensive Taste

''DJ Skee Presents: Expensive Taste'' (2007)

Solo singles

! Year	! Song	! style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	! Album
	"Can a Drummer Get Some?" (featuring Lil Wayne, Rick Ross (rapper)	Rick Ross, Swizz Beatz & Game)	—
	119
"Saturday Night" (featuring Transplants (band)	Transplants & Slash)	—
	—

Guest appearances

"In Search Of..." (by N.E.R.D) (2001) – drums on the track "Provider"

"Elephunk" (by The Black Eyed Peas) (2003) – drums on the track "Rock My Shit"

"Try This" (by Pink) (2003) – drums on the track "Unwind"

"Trill" (by Bun B) (2005) – drums on "Late Night Creepin"

"King" (by T.I.) (2006) – co-production on "You Know Who"

"Wolves" (by Idiot Pilot) (2007) – drums on "Elephant"

"I Don't Have to Try" / "Alone" / "Runaway" / "I Can Do Better" (by Avril Lavigne) (2007) – drums

"Get Money, Stay True" (by Paul Wall with Expensive Taste) (2007) – drums and production on "Slidin' on That Oil"

"Hardcore 4 Life" (by Danny Diablo (2007) – Drums On "Livin' By The Gun" & "Jersey White Trash"

"The Way It Is" (by Blestenation) (2007) – drums

"It's Whateva" (by the Federation) (2007) – drums on "Black Rosez"

"Dope Boys" (by Game) (2008) – drums, production and vocals contribution

"Goodbye" (by The Centerfolds) (2008) – drums

"OG'z" (by Wale) (2008) – drums

"The G Files" (by Warren G) (2009) – drums on "Let's Get High"

"Stronger with Each Tear" (by Mary J. Blige) (2009) – drums on "Stairway to Heaven"

"Drop the World/Forever" (by Drake, Lil Wayne & Eminem) (2010) – drums and percussion on Live Performance

"Rebirth" (by Lil Wayne) (2010) – production on "One Way Trip"

"Rockstar 101" (by Rihanna with Slash) (2010) – drums on music video

"Outta Control" (by Mams Taylor featuring Jacoby Shaddix) (2010) – Drums and Production

"Electric Gigolo" (by Mickey Avalon) (2010) – Drums on track "Fast Life"

"Heart of a Champion" (by Paul Wall) (2010) – Drums and production on tracks "Take Notes", "Im'ma Get It", "Live It", "Not My Friend" and "Heart Of A Hustler"

"31 Minutes to Takeoff" (by Mike Posner) (2010) – Drums on track "Gone In September"

"Passion, Pain & Pleasure" (by Trey Songz) (2010) – Drums on track "Blind"

"Piece Of Mind" (by Eddie Rap Life) (2010) – Drums and production on tracks "Rock N Roll Memorabilia", "Invisible Ingredients", "Oh Lord" and "Waitin' For The Moment"

"I Am Not a Human Being" (by Lil Wayne) (2010) – Drums and percussion on track "I Am Not A Human Being"

"You Need This Music" (by Nottz) (2010) – Drums and percussion on track "Intro"

"Bad Season" (by Tech N9ne featuring Krizz Kaliko, Nesto & Tonesha Sanders) (2010) – Producer on track "Hard Liquor"

"Femme Fatale" (by Britney Spears) (2011) - Drums on track "Don't Keep Me Waiting"

"Simply Unstoppable (YES remix)" (by Tinie Tempah) (2011) - Drums on remix of the song from the album Disc-Overy used on Lucozade Sport advertising featuring Travis, Tinie Tempah and boxer Katie Taylor.

"Boarding Pass Mixtape" (by Lax Boyz) (2011) - Drums and production on track "Eye Of The Tiger"

"Haute Living" (by Swizz Beatz featuring Lil Wayne & Lenny Kravitz) (2011) - Drums on track "Rock 'N' Roll"

"Success Is Certain" (by Royce da 5'9") (2011) - Drums on track "Legendary"

"When Fish Ride Bicycles" (by The Cool Kids) (2011) - Drums on track "Sour Apples"

"808's" (by Traxamillion) (2011) - Drums on single

"ESPN MLB Theme" (2011) - Drums on Remix to track

"Check Out My Swag" (by Young Dro) (2011) - Drums and percussion on track

Film and television

Travis has appeared in numerous films and television shows, most notably his own reality show, ''Meet the Barkers'', with his ex-wife Shanna Moakler, which debuted in 2005. However, Barker can be found in a brief scene with Blink-182 in the teen movie, ''American Pie''. In 2003, he appeared in an episode of MTV's ''Punk'd'', a ''Candid Camera''-esque television show, in which he took part in a set-up bareknuckle boxing match; he also appeared and spoke alongside Linkin Park-vocalist Chester Bennington on MTV's ''Icon'' show honoring heavy metal band Metallica in May of that year.

In 2006 Barker starred in a Boost Mobile commercial, which was detailed in an episode of ''Meet the Barkers''. He's also played a few guest starring roles such as a rapper on the popular crime drama, ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. In 2001, he appeared with Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge in the skit "Leave it to Blink-182", a parody of "Leave It to Beaver", on the late night TV show MADtv.

In a slight departure from his usual genres, he made an appearance on the 41st annual CMA Awards in 2006, performing a medley of songs by country icon Buck Owens with a group of artists including Dwight Yoakam, ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, and former Byrds bass player Chris Hillman.

; Filmography

Video games

Travis appears as a secret, playable character in ''Tony Hawk's Project 8''.

Travis appears as a playable character in ''Guitar Hero: World Tour''.

Videos

In addition to his own work with Blink-182, Box Car Racer, Transplants, and +44, Barker has made numerous guest appearances. In 2001, Barker appeared, playing drums, in P. Diddy's video, "Bad Boy for Life". In 2003 he played the drums in Bubba Sparxxx's video for "Back in the Mud".

He was featured in the opening sequence of the Dem Franchise Boys music video, "Ridin Rims," in 2006. Travis appeared in Xzibit's music video "Hey Now (Mean Muggin)", T.I.'s video "What You Know", Ice Cube's "Go to Church", New Found Glory's "My Friends Over You", Three 6 Mafia's "Side 2 Side (Remix)" and "Doe Boy Fresh" videos. He was also featured on the Outkast music video "Morris Brown" and can be seen playing drums in The Game's AOL Session.

; Videography

!Year	!Song	!Band	!Notes
1998	"Super Rad"	The Aquabats
	"All the Small Things"	Blink-182
"What's My Age Again?"	Blink-182
"Ziplock"
		Blink-182
"Adam's Song"	Blink-182
		Blink-182
"Stay Together for the Kids"	Blink-182
"The Rock Show"	Blink-182
"Bad Boy 4 Life"
	N.E.R.D.
	"I Feel So"	Box Car Racer
"There Is"	Box Car Racer
"My Friends Over You"	New Found Glory	Appears with the Transplants
	"Feeling This"	Blink-182
"Back in the Mud"	Bubba Sparxxx
"Diamonds and Guns"
"D.J. D.J."
"Violence"	Blink-182	Enhanced CD Version
"Feeling This"	Blink-182	Enhanced CD Version
"Obvious"	Blink-182	Enhanced CD Version
"The Fallen Interlude"	Blink-182	Enhanced CD Version
"Stockholm Syndrome"	Blink-182	Enhanced CD Version
	Blink-182	Enhanced CD Version
"What's Your Number"	Cypress Hill
	The Black Eyed Peas
		Blink-182
	Blink-182
	Blink-182
"Hey Now (Mean Muggin')"	Xzibit featuring Keri Hilson
	"What I Can't Describe"
"Not Now"	Blink-182
"Gangsters & Thugs"
	Blink-182
	"What You Know"	T.I.
"When Your Heart Stops Beating"
"Chapter 13"
"God's Gonna Cut You Down"	Johnny Cash
"Ridin' Rims"	Dem Franchize Boyz
"Side 2 Side"	Three 6 Mafia
	Outkast
"It's OK (One Blood)"		AOL Sessions
		AOL Sessions
"Too Much"		AOL Sessions
		AOL Sessions
"Baby Come On"		AOL Sessions
"When Your Heart Stops Beating"		AOL Sessions
"Cliff Diving"		AOL Sessions
"Lycanthrope"		AOL Sessions
	"Doe Boy Fresh"	Three Six Mafia featuring Chamillionaire
	Rihanna
"Can U Werk With Dat"	QUIK & AMG (The Fixxers)
"I'm Throwed"	Paul Wall
"Crank That (Soulja Boy)"	Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
"155"
	"Dope Boys"
	Flo Rida featuring T-Pain
"Fix Your Face"	TRV$ & DJAM
	"Day 'n' Nite"	Kid Cudi
"Rockstar 101"
	"Jump Down"	Himself featuring The Cool Kids
"Carry It"	Himself featuring Tom Morello, RZA and Raekwon
	"Can a Drummer Get Some?"
"Saturday Night"
"Misfits"	Himself featuring Steve Aoki
"Rock 'N' Roll"	Swizz Beatz featuring Lil wayne, Travis Barker & Lenny Kravitz
"Let's Go"	Himself featuring Yelawolf, Twista, Busta Rhymes & Lil Jon
"Up All Night"	Blink-182

Notes

A. "Let's Go" was not released as a single; it charted due to digital downloads. B. "Let's Go" peaked outside of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, therefore it is listed on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

References

External links

Travis Barker's Official Website Official Website

Cymbal configuration at Zildjian.com

Category:1975 births Category:American punk rock drummers Category:Blink-182 members Category:Car collectors Category:Living people Category:Musicians from California Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Corona, California Category:People from Fontana, California Category:Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents Category:The Aquabats members

an:Travis Barker bs:Travis Barker ca:Travis Barker cs:Travis Barker da:Travis Barker de:Travis Barker et:Travis Barker es:Travis Barker fr:Travis Barker id:Travis Barker it:Travis Barker he:טראוויס בארקר lv:Treviss Bārkers hu:Travis Barker nl:Travis Barker no:Travis Barker pl:Travis Barker pt:Travis Barker ru:Баркер, Трэвис simple:Travis Barker sk:Travis Barker sl:Travis Landon Barker fi:Travis Barker sv:Travis Barker uk:Тревіс Баркер vls:Travis Barker